Constructive Feedback Skills Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Line Managers, Team Leaders and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-IS-037

Before you join: Participants should have at least six months of workplace experience and regular contact with colleagues, managers, staff, clients or project stakeholders.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Managers and specialists often postpone feedback because they expect defensiveness, conflict or damaged relationships. The result is missed deadlines, repeated errors, unclear standards and frustration that appears later in performance reviews or project disputes. Constructive feedback is not a matter of being naturally direct or tactful; it requires preparation, behavioural evidence, clear requests, listening discipline and appropriate follow-through. Participants learn to address both positive contributions and difficult performance or conduct concerns without vague praise, personal labels or avoidable escalation.

This course develops practical skills for giving, requesting and receiving feedback in line-management, peer, project and stakeholder relationships. Participants use the Situation-Behaviour-Impact model to describe observed behaviour and consequences, the DESC script to make clear requests, and the Ladder of Inference to test assumptions before speaking. They practise planning conversations, opening difficult discussions, listening for context, responding to emotion and resistance, disagreeing professionally, and agreeing specific next actions. The course also addresses upward feedback, remote feedback, cultural differences, documentation and referral boundaries involving HR or formal performance processes.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with realistic cases, group analysis, paired simulations and structured reflection. Cases can be adapted to public sector, financial services, NGO, corporate and operational settings. Participants work with examples such as missed service standards, unhelpful meeting behaviour, incomplete risk reporting and cross-functional delivery problems. They leave with a personal feedback conversation plan, reusable preparation templates, response techniques and a 30-day practice plan. The course runs for five days, classroom-based in 50+ cities or live online, and participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course is suited to professionals who already participate in workplace conversations and need a reliable method for handling feedback with greater clarity, confidence and accountability.

What you will be able to do

  • Apply the Situation-Behaviour-Impact model to describe feedback with observable evidence
  • Construct DESC scripts that state concerns, requests and consequences clearly
  • Plan difficult feedback conversations using timing, stakeholder and reaction analysis
  • Conduct two-way feedback discussions using active listening and clarifying questions
  • Respond to defensiveness, disagreement and emotion while maintaining behavioural standards
  • Receive feedback productively through paraphrasing, evidence testing and action commitments
  • Adapt feedback methods for peers, managers, remote colleagues and cross-functional teams
  • Create a 30-day feedback practice plan with measurable conversation commitments

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence starting difficult performance conversations promptly
  • Clearer language for describing behaviour without personal judgement
  • Stronger ability to receive criticism without immediate defensiveness
  • Reusable scripts for upward, peer and direct-report feedback
  • A documented practice plan for improving one workplace relationship

For your organisation

  • Earlier correction of service, quality, risk and delivery problems
  • More consistent standards communicated by managers and team leaders
  • Reduced escalation from unresolved interpersonal frustrations
  • Better documentation of feedback agreements and follow-up actions
  • Stronger accountability in matrix teams and cross-functional projects

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can distinguish feedback purposes and establish conditions for useful, respectful conversations.

  • Feedback as observable information, interpretation, impact and agreed next steps
  • Distinguishing reinforcing, corrective, developmental and evaluative feedback purposes
  • Johari Window applied to blind spots, disclosure and trust
  • Separating intent from impact before framing a feedback conversation
  • Psychological safety conditions that support candour without personal attack
  • Choosing timely, private and proportionate feedback channels for sensitive issues
  • Feedback agreements covering frequency, format, confidentiality and follow-through

Participants can prepare evidence-based feedback that separates behaviour from judgement.

  • SBI structure: situation, behaviour and impact stated without judgement
  • Fact-opinion separation using observable verbs, quotations and verifiable records
  • Specificity tests that replace labels with behavioural evidence
  • Impact statements linked to customers, risk, quality, cost or colleagues
  • Neutral language patterns that reduce defensiveness and preserve dignity
  • Preparing two-minute feedback messages from notes and documented examples
  • Checking assumptions before attributing motives or capability gaps

Participants can use structured requests to address performance and conduct concerns.

  • DESC script: describe, express, specify and state consequences clearly
  • Requesting change through observable standards, deadlines and decision rights
  • Balancing candour with respect when conduct affects team performance
  • Addressing recurring issues through patterns rather than isolated incidents
  • Separating performance feedback from formal disciplinary process requirements
  • Calibrating directness for seniority, culture and relationship history
  • Closing conversations with commitments, support and review dates

Participants can assess risks and prepare a focused approach for sensitive feedback.

  • Recipient readiness assessed through timing, workload, privacy and emotional state
  • Ladder of Inference used to test conclusions before speaking
  • Opening purpose statements that signal respect, relevance and collaboration
  • Consent-based entry questions for unexpected or sensitive feedback
  • Selecting in-person, video, telephone or written feedback channels
  • Pre-conversation planning sheet covering facts, outcome and likely reactions
  • Managing power differences when giving feedback upward or cross-functionally

Participants can conduct feedback discussions that test understanding and surface relevant context.

  • Active listening demonstrated through paraphrasing, summarising and clarifying questions
  • Observation, feeling, need and request language structures
  • Open questions used to surface context, constraints and differing perspectives
  • Silence, pace and body language managed during difficult exchanges
  • Reflecting emotional content without agreeing with disputed interpretations
  • Joint problem definition before discussing solutions or commitments
  • Conversation turns balanced between advocacy, inquiry and listening

Participants can respond constructively when feedback conversations become emotionally difficult.

  • Defensiveness recognised as a response to threat, status or uncertainty
  • Threat responses linked to status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness
  • De-escalation language that acknowledges emotion while retaining behavioural standards
  • Responding to denial, counterattack, withdrawal and tears constructively
  • Pausing conversations when regulation and decision quality deteriorate
  • Boundary statements used when conduct becomes disrespectful or unsafe
  • Escalation routes distinguished from routine performance feedback within established HR procedures

Participants can receive, test and act on feedback without dismissing useful information.

  • Receiving feedback with pause, paraphrase and clarifying-question techniques
  • Separating useful data from tone, delivery and personal reaction
  • Requesting examples, impact and expectations when feedback lacks specificity
  • Testing feedback patterns against self-assessment and performance evidence
  • Disagreeing respectfully without reflexive defence or counter-criticism
  • Thanking the giver while reserving judgement on disputed claims
  • Converting accepted feedback into behavioural experiments and review points

Participants can adapt feedback conversations for peers, managers, teams and remote colleagues.

  • Feedback norms established for peers, project teams and matrix relationships
  • Upward feedback framed around organisational impact and shared goals
  • Cross-cultural differences considered without stereotyping communication preferences or norms
  • Remote feedback practices addressing latency, camera use and written tone
  • Public recognition separated from private corrective conversations where possible
  • Group feedback distinguished from individual accountability discussions and performance reviews
  • Meeting protocols that create regular opportunities for reciprocal feedback

Participants can document feedback fairly and recognise when formal processes are required.

  • Performance feedback distinguished from appraisal ratings, coaching and mentoring
  • Documenting behavioural examples, agreements and follow-up evidence accurately
  • Confidentiality limits recognised when misconduct, safety or legal risks arise
  • Bias checks applied to attribution, recency, similarity and confirmation effects
  • Consistent standards maintained across employees, contractors and senior leaders
  • HR referral triggers identified for harassment, discrimination and capability cases
  • Feedback records written objectively for appropriate management review

Participants can establish personal routines that turn feedback into sustained workplace practice.

  • Feedback loops designed with trigger events, cadence and ownership
  • Personal feedback goals linked to recurring workplace relationships
  • Thirty-day action plan specifying conversations, measures and review dates
  • Feedforward questions used to generate future-focused improvement ideas
  • Follow-up conversations assess changed behaviour, support needs and results
  • Peer accountability arrangements sustain practice after the course
  • Personal scripts refined for an upcoming feedback conversation

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Situation-Behaviour-Impact feedback template
  2. DESC conversation script
  3. Difficult feedback preparation worksheet
  4. Feedback recipient response checklist
  5. Objective feedback documentation template
  6. 30-day feedback practice plan

Who should attend

  • Line Managers — need to address performance, conduct and development issues directly
  • Team Leaders — need consistent feedback routines for operational teams
  • Project Managers — need to resolve delivery behaviours across matrix relationships
  • HR Business Partners — need to coach managers on fair feedback conversations
  • Senior Specialists — need to influence peers and give upward feedback credibly
  • Customer Service Supervisors — need to improve service behaviours through timely coaching

Skills and tools covered

Constructive feedback deliveryActive listeningDifficult conversationsFeedback receptionBehavioural observationPerformance documentation

Tools and standards

Situation-Behaviour-Impact model, DESC script, Johari Window, Ladder of Inference

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to introduce feedback models, followed by case analysis, group exercises, paired simulations and individual planning. Participants prepare feedback messages from realistic workplace scenarios, practise both giver and recipient roles, and receive structured observations from peers and the instructor. Simulations cover positive reinforcement, corrective feedback, upward feedback, remote conversations and emotionally charged responses. Reflection periods help participants identify habits that reduce clarity or trust. The final application planning session converts course methods into scheduled workplace conversations and follow-up actions.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least six months of workplace experience and regular contact with colleagues, managers, staff, clients or project stakeholders. They should be able to describe examples of feedback conversations they have given, received or avoided. No prior management qualification, psychology training, HR certification or formal coaching experience is required. The course does not assume responsibility for disciplinary action, although it addresses when feedback concerns should be documented or referred through established HR procedures.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have regular workplace interactions and some experience of giving or receiving feedback. No management qualification, HR background or coaching certification is required.

Bring two or three anonymised examples of feedback conversations you need to handle. These may involve a colleague, manager, direct report, project stakeholder or client-facing team member.

It is designed for managers, supervisors, project leaders, HR professionals and experienced specialists. It is particularly useful for people who need to address performance or relationship issues but want a clearer structure.

This course focuses on the recurring skill of giving, requesting and receiving workplace feedback. It includes difficult conversations and listening techniques, but does not train participants as professional coaches or mediators.

Participants leave with scripts, preparation tools and a 30-day practice plan linked to actual workplace conversations. The methods can be used in one-to-ones, project reviews, service observations, performance discussions and upward feedback.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor input, case work, group exercises, feedback simulations, reflection and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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