Techniques of Encouragement;
Converting Criticism to Supportive Guidance
 by
Phil Bartle, PhD

Management Reference

 Staff (for management), community members (for mobilizers) equally
 need to be encouraged.
 How you manage your criticism is an important element to avoid
 discouragement

 It is important to recognise that the number one hindrance to
 success (reaching objectives) is discouragement. When your staff or
 community members get discouraged, action slows (or even halts);
 something we can prevent and counteract.

 Experience has shown that the number one
 cause of discouragement is criticism. Criticism is never
 required, and usually
 has negative results on any action.

 In management training, there is a slogan that illustrates an
 important principle about this, " You do not have to be bad to get
 etter." This means that anyone can improve, if shown how, without
 being told that they are not good.

 We all want our clients, target groups and staff to improve their
 performance. What is important to us is that we can encourage and
 help them to improve without pointing out their faults.

 When we give written feedback, we can involve this principle in
 several ways. One is a list of titles or topics that we can follow
 in writing feedback to reports or other submitted work:

 These form a set; all five should be included. A person will more
 carefully listen to our suggestions for improvement if we first
 point out what she or he did right or well.

 . What was good about your report/action/activity/;
 . What can be improved about it;
 . What we agree about it;
 . What we disagree about it; and
 . Some recommendations (eg further action, corrections).

 When a client, volunteer or staff member does some thing with which
 we disagree or that should never be repeated, we can still take
 action. Please excuse the crude vocabulary, but we can serve what in
 management training is called a "sh!t sandwich." (You might object
 to the term, but you will remember it now). In such a sandwich, on
 either side of the part we do not like is the bread (which we do like).

 It goes like this: (a) start with honest praise, pointing out
 the good things, (b) make suggestion for improvement and why, then
 (c) finish with more honest praise. The client or staff member is
 more likely to accept and listen to the unpleasant "(b)" if it is
 sandwiched in between the "(a)" and "(c)."

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 Praise, Acknowledge and Guide; Do Not Criticise:

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Updated: 2003 May 16