Communication & feedback style
For: Anyone working with people
A 10-question deep-dive on one specific skill: how you communicate and how you handle feedback. Run it on yourself, send it to people you work with, compare.
- 10 questions
- 3 dimensions
- ~3-4 min
- Self · Peer · Both
Most leadership skills take years to develop. Communication and feedback are different — they're high-leverage and surprisingly trainable, but only if you know specifically what's working and what isn't. This template zeroes in on three dimensions: clarity and listening, giving feedback, and (often overlooked) receiving feedback. 10 questions across three dimensions.
How it works
Fill it in for honest self-reflection. Send it to peers, your team, your boss — anyone you communicate with regularly. Or run both in parallel — that's where the gap shows up. The whole template is short on purpose: low barrier for respondents means more of them actually finish it.
What's inside — 10 questions across 3 dimensions
Clarity and listening
what people actually understand, and whether you actually listen
Giving feedback
frequency, specificity, timing, and whether it lands as supportive or combative
Receiving feedback
defensiveness, openness, and whether you actively seek it out
The questions, in full
Every question is included below. You answer them yourself first, then send the same set to the people who've seen you work.
Clarity and listening
- Q1Rating (1-5)
When this person speaks, I leave with a clear understanding of what they meant.
- Q2Rating (1-5)
This person listens to understand, not to wait for their turn to talk.
- Q3Open answer
When does communication with this person work best? When does it break down?
Giving feedback
- Q4Rating (1-5)
When this person gives feedback, it's specific enough to act on.
- Q5Rating (1-5)
This person notices and names good work — not only when something goes wrong.
- Q6Rating (1-5)
When this person gives critical feedback, I feel they want me to succeed, not to win the argument.
- Q7Multiple choice
How often does this person give you feedback?
- — Never or almost never
- — Once a year (e.g., during the annual review only)
- — A few times a year
- — About once a month
- — Weekly or more often
Receiving feedback
- Q8Rating (1-5)
When I give this person feedback, they take it without defensiveness.
- Q9Rating (1-5)
This person actively seeks out feedback — they don't just wait for it.
- Q10Open answer
What would make it easier to give this person honest feedback?
The research behind these questions
Drawn from Kim Scott's Radical Candor framework, Adam Grant's research on challenge networks (Think Again), Tasha Eurich on self-awareness (Insight), Amy Edmondson on psychological safety, and Gallup's Q12 recognition research. Each question targets a specific behavior — no vague 'communicates effectively' rating.
References
- — Kim Scott — Radical Candor
- — Adam Grant — Think Again
- — Tasha Eurich — Insight (2017)
- — Amy Edmondson — The Fearless Organization
- — Gallup — Q12 Engagement Survey methodology
- — Daniel Goleman — Emotional Intelligence framework (HBR)
Ready to run this round on yourself?
Sign up, pick this template, answer it about yourself, and send the same questions to the people who've been in the room with you. The gap between your view and theirs is where the actual learning lives.