The big idea: Feedback is data about the work, not a verdict on you: pause, play it back, ask and commit to a next step, whether you tend to doubt yourself or to overrate the draft.
In 60 seconds
- Feedback is data about the work, not a verdict on you.
- Receive it in four beats: pause, play it back, ask and commit to a next step.
- Give feedback that is specific, kind, timely and aimed at the work, not the person.
Do this: log the feedback you get each week and show what changed because of it in your deliverables.
How feedback helps you grow
In this course you get direct, human-centered feedback from faculty, your client and your teammates. All of it is meant for your growth. How you take feedback, and how you give it, is a consulting skill you can practice like any other.
Two patterns that get in the way
The syllabus names two patterns that high-potential people (honors students, executives) often fall into. They pull in opposite directions, and both make feedback harder to use.
Imposter syndrome
You doubt your achievements and fear being “found out,” even with strong evidence that you are capable. It shows up as perfectionism, anxiety and crediting your success to luck. It is common in high-pressure creative work like human-centered design.
Watch out: you brush off praise and hear every critique as proof you do not belong.
The Dunning-Kruger effect
People with low skill at a task overestimate how good they are at it. The syllabus calls it a dual burden: you lack the skill, and you lack the ability to see that you lack it. Acting confident starts to feel like enough.
Watch out: you bristle at feedback because you believe the work is already “good enough.”
One fix for both
Treat feedback as data about the work, not a verdict on you. The doubter learns the work is fixable. The overconfident learns where the gaps are. You were selected for this program for your potential, not because anyone thinks you have already reached it.
Patterns, not labels
Most people drift toward one or the other on different days and tasks. Use these ideas to notice your own reactions. Do not use them to diagnose a teammate.
A note on the research
Researchers still debate how large the Dunning-Kruger effect is. The practical lesson holds either way: check your own read of your work against outside evidence.
Receive feedback in four beats
Pause
Take a breath before you answer. Your first reaction is rarely your best one.
Skip: “But…”
Play it back
Say what you heard in your own words. It shows you listened and catches misunderstandings.
Try: “So you’re saying…”
Ask
Get an example or a picture of what better looks like.
Try: “Can you show me where it lost you?”
Next step
Say what you will try and when. Then report back.
Try: “We’ll test that by Thursday.”
Three ways a reaction can go
Defensive
Explains, justifies or points elsewhere. Sounds like: “But we already did…” or “They didn’t read it closely.”
Watch out: people stop giving you feedback when every note turns into a debate.
Dismissive
Shrugs it off or waits it out. Sounds like: “That’s just their opinion” or “Whatever, moving on.”
Watch out: the same note comes back later, often from the client.
Growth-oriented
Curious, specific and ready to act. Sounds like: “That helps. Can you show me an example?”
Shows up as: a visible change in your next draft.
Feedback with your client
When the client pushes back
A client who questions your work is giving you access to what they know. Use the four beats, then go back to your evidence. Pushback in a meeting is cheaper than a failed pilot.
Give feedback your team can use
Make it human-centered
- Be specific. Point to the slide, the sentence or the moment.
- Aim at the work. Talk about the draft, not the person.
- Be kind and clear. Vague and nice helps no one. Clear and respectful does.
- Be timely. Feedback on Tuesday beats feedback after the deadline.
- Ask first. “Want my take on the poster?” makes it easier to hear.
Two formats that work
- Situation, Behavior, Impact (SBI). A model from the Center for Creative Leadership: when it happened, what you saw, what it caused.
- I like, I wish, What if. A common design studio format for critiquing a prototype: one strength, one gap, one new idea.
Notice your patternSigns you lean toward doubt or overconfidence, and what to try
| If you notice this | Try this |
|---|---|
| You rewrite a section five times and still will not share it. | Share a rough version early. Feedback on a draft costs less than feedback on a final. |
| You hear one critique and forget three compliments. | Write down every point, positive ones included, before you react. |
| You credit good results to luck or your teammates. | Name one thing you did that made the result possible. |
| You feel sure the work is done, and nobody else has seen it. | Test it with one user or one classmate before you call it done. |
| Your first thought on feedback is “they don’t get it.” | Ask what they saw. If they missed your point, the work did not make it clear. |
| You argue each note in the meeting. | Write notes now, decide later. Thank them and sort the notes with your team. |
Scripts for hard momentsStarters for faculty, client and teammate conversations
- Faculty push on your work: “That’s fair. What would a strong version of this section include?”
- The client dislikes a prototype: “Thank you, that is what testing is for. Which part felt wrong for your people?”
- You disagree with a note: “I see it differently, and here is our evidence. Can we test both versions?”
- A teammate missed a deadline: “On Tuesday the interview notes weren’t in, so the synthesis slipped a day. What would make Monday work?”
- You need feedback and nobody offers it: “What is one thing we should change before the client sees this?”
SBI, worked exampleTurning a vague complaint into feedback a teammate can act on
Vague: “You’re not pulling your weight.”
SBI: “In Tuesday’s client call (situation), you joined late and didn’t share the survey results (behavior). The client asked for them twice, and we looked unprepared (impact). Can we agree on who presents what before the next call?”
It names one moment, describes what happened without labeling the person and ends with a request.
Delivering a hard finding to a clientFive moves and a worked example
- Start with their people. Open with what users or staff said and did, in their words.
- Separate what you saw from what you think it means. “Six of eight nurses described…” comes before “We think the bottleneck is…”
- Name what works. Clients hear the problem better when you show you also see their strengths.
- Offer options. Two or three paths to test, each with a tradeoff, not one verdict.
- Ask for their read. “Does this match what you see?” They know context you do not.
Example: a hospital discharge process (fictional).
Blunt: “Your discharge process is broken.”
Better: “In our interviews, six of eight nurses said discharge paperwork can’t start until after the final physician round, so patients often wait into the afternoon. Your bedside teaching got strong praise. We see two options to test: start paperwork the evening before, or add a midday round. Does that match what you see on the floor?”
When feedback conflictsThe client says one thing, faculty another
- Name the tension. Write both notes side by side.
- Go back to your users. Which note fits what your interviews and tests showed?
- Ask both. Share the conflict with your faculty and your client contact. Consultants surface tradeoffs; they do not hide them.
- Decide and record it. Note your choice and your reason in your Weekly Consulting Brief.
When it feels heavier than feedbackWhere to turn if stress is getting in the way
Feedback can sting. That is normal. If worry or stress keeps you from sleeping, working or enjoying things, talk with your faculty, an advisor or the UT Student Counseling Center. Asking for support is a strength, and it is part of leading well.
Try it: Feedback Response Coach
Tool · BUAD 497
Feedback Response Coach
Practice what you say back to feedback and see how it reads. It reads words, not people.
- 1Pick a moment
- 2Respond
- 3Strengthen
What you said, and the words that tipped it
A stronger response
The four beats
Put it to work: feedback as data in every deliverable
Feedback runs through every BUAD 497 deliverable. The Smith GLS Technical Report template treats it as evidence of rigor: you use “feedback as data” and show who gave it and what changed because of it. Start capturing it now so you have the story when you write.
Build it in five steps
Set team feedback norms
Agree how your team gives notes (SBI for process, I like, I wish, What if for work) and when you will review each other’s drafts.
Your deliverable: a two-line team feedback agreement in an early Weekly Consulting Brief.
Log feedback every week
Write down each note from faculty, your client and testers, plus what you did about it. Ideas you dropped count too.
Your deliverable: a “Feedback we got, what we changed” line in each Weekly Consulting Brief.
Test the prototype and listen
Use the four beats with every tester and every client conversation. Thank, play it back, ask, and leave with a next step.
Your deliverable: the “what testing showed” and “next steps” slides of your Final Prototype Presentation.
Rehearse and revise
Treat the in-class poster dress rehearsal as a test. Ask classmates what they understood in the first minute.
Your deliverable: a revised EUReCA poster and abstract that fix what the rehearsal exposed.
Tell the iteration story
Pull from your log: what you tested, who gave feedback and why their voice mattered, and what changed as a result.
Your deliverable: the Prototyping, Testing and Iteration section of your HCD Technical Report.
Example feedback logThree rows from a fictional client project
Example only. Harbor Street Food Pantry is a made-up client.
| Who | What they said | What we changed |
|---|---|---|
| Faculty | Brief reads like an activity log. | Brief now opens with three learnings and one ask. |
| Volunteer coordinator (client) | Most volunteers will not download an app. | Tested a text-message sign-up with five volunteers. Dropped the app. |
| Two volunteers (users) | Reply codes were confusing. | Replaced codes with “YES” and “NO.” |
Do this, not thatThe habits that work and the common mistakes
Do this
- Share rough drafts early.
- Write every note down before you react.
- Ask for an example of what better looks like.
- Report back on what you changed.
- Give teammates specific, kind, timely notes.
Not that
- Waiting until the work is “perfect” to show anyone.
- Debating each note in the meeting.
- Nodding along, then changing nothing.
- Saving up frustration until the end of the semester.
- Labeling a teammate instead of describing what happened.
Before you submitA feedback check for any deliverable
- [ ] We can name who gave feedback on this work and why their voice was relevant.
- [ ] We can point to at least one specific change that feedback caused.
- [ ] We noted ideas we chose not to pursue, and why.
- [ ] Every teammate had a chance to review the draft.
- [ ] Last week’s faculty notes are visibly addressed.
- [ ] Conflicting notes are named, with the choice we made and our reason.
Go deeper
In-class team activity · 25 min
Four Beats Under Pressure
By the end: An honest look at how your team has handled feedback on your client project, a live four-beat rehearsal with another team, a client-ready version of one hard finding and one team feedback norm. Your instructor will give you the password in class.
Part of the Smith GLS human-centered leadership sequence: IB 407, BUAD 317 and BUAD 497, toward the Human Centered Consulting Certificate.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between imposter syndrome and the Dunning-Kruger effect?
They pull in opposite directions. Imposter syndrome is doubting your achievements and fearing being found out, even with strong evidence you are capable. The Dunning-Kruger effect is when people with low skill overestimate how good they are, lacking both the skill and the ability to see the gap. Both make feedback harder to use.
How should you respond to feedback?
Use four beats: pause, play it back, ask and name a next step. Take a breath before answering, say what you heard in your own words, ask for an example of what better looks like, then say what you will try and when. Treat feedback as data about the work, not a verdict on you.
What is the SBI feedback model?
SBI stands for Situation, Behavior, Impact, a model from the Center for Creative Leadership. You name when it happened, what you saw and what it caused. Instead of "You're not pulling your weight," say which client call, what the teammate did and how it affected the team, then end with a request for next time.
What are common mistakes when receiving feedback?
Two common reactions get in the way: defensive and dismissive. Defensive reactions explain, justify or point elsewhere, and people stop giving feedback when every note becomes a debate. Dismissive reactions shrug it off, so the same note often comes back later from the client. A growth-oriented reaction is curious, specific and shows up as a visible change in the next draft.
How do you deliver a hard finding to a consulting client?
Start with what the client's own people said and did, in their words. Separate what you saw from what you think it means, name what is working, offer two or three options with tradeoffs instead of one verdict, and ask for their read. Clients hear the problem better when you show you also see their strengths.