Thanks for the Feedback

The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well

By: Douglas Stone, Sheila Heen

Narrated by: Douglas Stone, Sheila Heen

The coauthors of the New York Times–bestselling Difficult Conversations take on the toughest topic of all: how we see ourselves

Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen have spent the past fifteen years working with corporations, nonprofits, governments, and families to determine what helps us learn and what gets in our way. In Thanks for the Feedback, they explain why receiving feedback is so crucial yet so challenging, offering a simple framework and powerful tools to help us take on life’s blizzard of offhand comments, annual evaluations, and unsolicited input with curiosity and grace. They blend the latest insights from neuroscience and psychology with practical, hard-headed advice. Thanks for the Feedback is destined to become a classic in the fields of leadership, organizational behavior, and education.

Beneficial Information, Important Skill

I happened to listen to this book while participating in Toastmasters, an organization that incorporates regular feedback into its program. The book is very helpful with respect to recognizing the need to develop the ability to work well with feedback. Listening to this book helped take much of both the stress and the sting out of feedback. I am now more able to look at feedback as a positive, particularly when delivered well and early. Someone has taken the time to offer me the benefit of their opinion. I have the opportunity to consider their opinion and determine whether to agree with and act on the feedback.

Participating in a contest and honing a speech with repeated feedback definitely left me with the impression that seeking and using feedback accelerated my improvement.

This is one of those books that I have listened to over and over again. It is probably another of the occasional books that I will eventually buy in paper or e-book format because of the wealth of useful information available in the book.

I gave a well received Toastmasters speech inspired by the ideas in this audiobook.

I recommend it for assistance in developing skill in both giving and receiving feedback. I believe that listening to this book has helped me provide others with more useful feedback, delivered in a more constructive manner.

Not the greates narration ever and the book could have benefitted from more professional narration. But, there may also be some benefit from hearing the voices of the authors, perhaps to a lesser extent.

So good

Wow, the content here is just outstanding. I hadn’t even finished listening to it and was already applying things and seeing an impact. Gives really helpful language about feedback, and tons of great tips. Loved it. 5 stars for content.

Great information almost ruined by bad narration

If you could sum up Thanks for the Feedback in three words, what would they be?

Useful
Helpful
Boring

What was one of the most memorable moments of Thanks for the Feedback?

I enjoyed how they deconstructed various aspects of giving and receiving feedback.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrators were the worst part of this listening experience. Sheila was alright, if not a little rehearsed-sounding. Douglas was quiet, mumbly and did not articulate enough. I found myself having to turn the volume way up to hear what he had to say, and then have my ears blown out when Sheila came back on.

What did you learn from Thanks for the Feedback that you would use in your daily life?

I collaborate daily with members of my team. Feedback is an important aspect of our work, no matter where it comes from. This will really help me to phrase my feedback in a way that it will be well-received, as well as allow me to digest feedback given to me and turn it into improvements in my own work.

Any additional comments?

PLEASE hire a professional to narrate this! It took me months to get through this book because I could only stand to listen to a bit at a time.

Otherwise, this book contains great information for anyone looking to improve how they give and receive feedback. Great for high, mid, and low level employees alike.

Needs a new narrator.

Sheila is not bad but Douglas puts me to sleep and I lose interest in what he is saying. I’m only 2 hours in and I’m ready to return this book.

Wish I had read this years ago

Ever been told you don't listen? Or that you're responsible for your own development? Have you ever been left with only seemingly bad feedback and no solutions? If you've ever felt stuck in your career or other areas of your life, this book could be a critical turning point of learning for you. The authors adeptly outline emotional triggers for giving and receiving feedback and obstacles we all face regardless of on which side of the feedback we sit. There are plenty of appropriate and relatable examples throughout the book to help us better internalize and understand tools and processes we can use to improve both receiving and giving feedback. At times I found myself laughing out loud at some of the examples because it was as if they had been a fly on the wall throughout my career. Great insight and recommendations for how to improve the quality of your relationships in and out of work.