Recently, I heard a podcast tip on the power of quantifying question responses to draw out unreserved opinions. I’ve been selectively testing it out with success.
Most people at work will gauge feedback using qualitative questions. Something like:
- How did you like the presentation?
- Did you find the Q&A helpful?
- How aligned are you with this objective?
- Did you have a good 1-2-1 conversation with your new boss?
- I heard you had a tough client conversation. How did it go?
Qualitative answers to these questions usually suffice. But the potential for miscommunication exists. Perhaps Raj responds, “he really liked the presentation” and that’s his way of saying it was fine, nothing special. While Carmina responds, “she thought it was solid” and that reflects her highest praise.
Quantification can help you more accurately uncover their feelings. And everyone is familiar with a 10-point scale. Like this:
- On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the presentation?
- On a scale of 1-10, how aligned are you with this objective?
- I heard you had a tough conversation. On a scale of 1-10, how challenging was it?
- Etc…
It’s a simple and effective trick. I find it particularly useful when you’re asking for feedback in a group setting, where there tends to be peer pressure to respond in alignment with the group and to limit verbal explanation. If I ask everyone “are you aligned with this?” I’m likely to get a “yes, I’m aligned” type of response. If I ask everyone to rate their alignment on a scale of 1-10 privately and then share it afterwards, I’ll receive more clarity on their individual feelings. And if you try it out and every response is a 7 or 7.5, follow-on by asking for a new rating out of 10, but 7s and 8s aren’t allowed.