Feedback is a phenomenon of communication. It could be defined as that information back in effective communication. In every communication process there are two main elements: a sender and a receiver. Feedback occurs between the two when the receiver responds to the sender.
The concept that we analyze here is used in very diverse contexts: in the business world, the social sciences , communication itself or psychology . Feedback anglicism is used synonymously in everyday language.
Internal and external feedback scenarios
One can speak of a fedback or internal feedback, which is one that occurs in ourselves through the sensations we have when facing something. Suppose we get nervous in one type of situation (in this case we have had an emotion that affects us and from which we can draw conclusions). There is also external feedback, which comes to us from the context around us. Likewise, it is possible to distinguish between negative and positive feedback.
The first does not provide us with any relevant information (for example, if someone tells us that something we have done is wrong but does not say anything else about it). In the positive, the receiver provides valuable information to the sender (for example, so that it can improve in some way). Obviously, positive feedback is more valuable, since it is possible to draw conclusions and change a strategy or a habit .
Feedback is useful to enrich communication, whether from a person, an entity or a system where there is an interaction. At the same time, it serves as a reinforcement when presented constructively.
Feedback on business dynamics
The idea of feedback in the context of a company implies a desire for change, that is, there is a purpose to improve a behavior , a service or an organizational guideline. Feedback should not be confused with criticism, since criticism (especially if it is destructive) generally does not have a strategic function
Feedback is intended to be a useful instrument in the operation of a company. For this, it is important that it be a permanent process and not something sporadic (having two meetings a year to analyze results is insufficient and not very operational). A feedback system must be implemented, that is, a rigorous methodology that allows analyzing the information (knowing the customer’s opinion is essential to maintain quality and to make quick decisions). Feedback should not be confused with permanent debate, since it is about evaluating objective processes and that opinions have an empirical basis.
Testing Feedback
Probably you will know the “rumor game”. A person receives a message (a short story, for example), which they must pass on to another. The recipient is not given the opportunity to ask or clarify their doubts regarding what is interpreted; the sender does not have the possibility of knowing how their message was received, so they do not receive feedback.
This second person transmits what he has understood to a third person; which in turn will make it to a fourth, and so on. But always without the possibility of feedback.
What a fifth or sixth person finally interprets often differs greatly from what the first person read.
The cause of the misunderstanding is, to a large extent, the deprivation of the possibility that the senders adjust their messages based on what the receivers have understood; the absence of feedback.
With this simple activity, or some of its variants, you can demonstrate to a group the importance of feedback in interpersonal communication to convey messages effectively and accurately.
