Part A: Unit 1: Session 2 – Feedback in Communication

1. What is the importance of feedback in communication?

Ans: Feedback is very important in communication as it ensures that the message has
been successfully conveyed and the communication is effectively successful.

2. What are the characteristics of effective feedback?

Ans: An effective feedback has following characteristics:
(i) Intention: The intention of the feedback should ensure that communication
becomes successful if the message is not received correctly.
(ii) Specific: The feedback should not be vague and should be conveyed with clarity.
(iii) Fair and Non-judgmental: Useful feedback does not pass judgment on the
message; it merely expresses if the message is received in the right form.
(iv) Timeliness: Effective feedback is the one that intimated the sender about the
message in time.
(v) Usefulness: Effective feedback is the one that aims to improve the overall
communication.
(vi) Clarity: The feedback must be clear in its form and should be in an
understandable format.

3. What are different types of feedback? Give example sentences to support your
answer.
Ans: Different types of feedbacks used in communication are:
(i) Formal and Informal Feedback:
A formal feedback follows a preset format or structure using which he receiver
frames feedback and sends it. Formal feedback covers many predefined points and
has a specific blueprint.
Examples: “Congratulations on scoring A+ in your final test performance. You are
promoted to your next class.”
“Please accept my apologies.”
Informal feedback, on the other hand, is spontaneously framed and does not
stick to a specific structure such as instant comments by the listener or audience.
Examples: “Good job! Congratulations!”
“Sorry”

(ii) Descriptive and Non-descriptive Feedback:

A Non-descriptive feedback provides some specific information but does not
give detailed description.
Examples: “I only liked your 2nd paragraph. Others need improvement.”
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“In your article, conclusion needs rework.”

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Created By: Saurabh Singh, HoD, CS, NWS-Guna

 Part A: Unit 1: Session 2 – Feedback in Communication

A Descriptive feedback, on the contrary, provides meaningful information in a

detailed, expressive manner that also contains some analysis or suggestions etc.
Examples: “All paragraphs should cover basically one idea. Only one paragraph was
as per this specification, other paragraphs covered multiple ideas and the
information was also not cohesively linked.”
“In your article, the conclusion did not reiterate your observation and did
not support the evidences your article talks about. You need to rewrite
the conclusion part keeping these things in mind.”

(ii) Specific and Non-specific Feedback:

The Specific feedback talks about a thing or a point particularly without
talking about a general overview.
Examples: “I like the way you described your grandpa’s character. It makes me feel
like I know him too.”
“I like your portrayal of sibling rivalry especially the part where you and
your sister were fighting. I fight with my brother too. So it made it sound
real to me. Your story seemed related at all points”
The Non-Specific feedback, on the other hand, talks about the entire thing
while giving a general overview. It does not particularly pinpoint a specific
thing/feature.
Examples: “I like your story. It’s good.”
“I liked your topic of sibling rivalry.”

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Created By: Saurabh Singh, HoD, CS, NWS-Guna