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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is about how to respond to feedback about

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Speaker 1: improving your work. Start by saying thank you for bringing

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Speaker 1: that to my attention. Whether you intend to do anything

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Speaker 1: about the feedback or not, this phrase keeps things courteous

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Speaker 1: and makes the person giving the feedback feel heard. Whatever

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Speaker 1: your field, it is likely that you sometimes get feedback

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Speaker 1: about what you could do differently, perhaps from a boss

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Speaker 1: or a client, or from a trusted colleague, but it

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Speaker 1: could also be from a person you've never met who

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Speaker 1: just wants to share his or her opinion. Sometimes this

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Speaker 1: feedback is phrased nicely, and sometimes it's just blunt. You

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Speaker 1: know how this goes. I had a hard time hearing

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Speaker 1: you during that presentation. You really need to use a

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Speaker 1: mic next time. Or you use the phrase you know

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Speaker 1: way too often. You really should practice more to get

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Speaker 1: rid of it. Or this signage is so confusing, I'm

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Speaker 1: surprised anyone can find your office. Or my appointment was

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Speaker 1: an hour ago and I haven't even laid eyes on

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Speaker 1: the doctor yet. Whatever the nature of the feedback and

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Speaker 1: whoever is offering it. Thank you for bringing that to

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Speaker 1: my attention can be a great response. For one thing,

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Speaker 1: if you receive the feedback in person, simply saying thank

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Speaker 1: you for bringing that to my attention saves you from

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Speaker 1: the awkward moment of figuring out a good immediate response.

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Speaker 1: You have a pocket phrase ready to go. Oh thank

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Speaker 1: you for bringing that to my attention also strikes a

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Speaker 1: collaborative tone, not a defensive one. Getting defensive tends to

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Speaker 1: raise the temperature on a situation quickly, and especially if

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Speaker 1: you are dealing with an aggravated customer, turning down the

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Speaker 1: temperature can be incredibly important. This phrase communicates that you

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Speaker 1: heard the person and that you appreciate and are receptive

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Speaker 1: to their suggestion. You position the person offering the feedback

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Speaker 1: as on your team. You are both motivated to make

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Speaker 1: your work better, and ideally that is the case, you

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Speaker 1: are both hoping that any situation can be better. Sometimes

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Speaker 1: people truly do offer helpful feedback, even if they are blunt.

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Speaker 1: Lots of offices could improve their signage. Sometimes emergencies happen,

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Speaker 1: but sometimes people are late because of bad systems that

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Speaker 1: could be improved. I probably do say you know too

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Speaker 1: much in my interviews. On the other hand, sometimes feedback

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Speaker 1: is really more about the person who offers it venting,

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Speaker 1: and sometimes even if the suggestion is spot on, you

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Speaker 1: might not have the power to implement it. When that

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Speaker 1: is the case, the added benefit of the phrase thank

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Speaker 1: you for bringing that to my attention is that you

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Speaker 1: are not promising to do anything. You are thanking people

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Speaker 1: for their concern, and then you are free to do

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Speaker 1: whatever makes the most sense. If you try using the

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Speaker 1: phrase thank you for bringing that to my attention to

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Speaker 1: respond to feedback, I hope you'll let me know how

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Speaker 1: it goes. I'd also love to hear any other pocket

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Speaker 1: phrases you find useful. I am always looking for more ideas.

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Speaker 1: You can reach me at Laura at Laura vander Kam

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Speaker 1: dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our talks. Hey, everybody,

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Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

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Speaker 1: that's b E the number four then Breakfast p o D.

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Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: Podcast at i heeart media dot com that before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite ships. Yeah