Some people find it difficult to give feedback in a well structured way, so that it is received well, clearly understood and the receiver knows exactly what is expected of them. 

A simple method is to use three statements as an introduction to a further explanation. These statements are:

• What I like
• What I didn’t like
• What I want you to do differently.

These three statements may be all that is needed, or they could be followed by more explanation, providing examples of the behaviour you would like to see changed and suggestions for how situations could have been handled differently.

‘I think that you obtain the right information from patients effectively when they ask for something to treat their symptoms, and this is good. You then don’t recommend a single product but give customers a range of products to choose from. I would like you in future to recommend a single product that you think is the best solution for the customer’s problem. For example, the lady who asked about threadworms this morning...’

Using this model to structure the feedback you give encourages people to accept it positively. It reinforces self-esteem by starting with a positive point, identifies what can be improved and then gives a clear description of how they can do things better.