BACK

NEXT ACTIVITY

Complete this activity first

NEXT ACTIVITY

You are currently
REFRAMING IDEAS
Get feedback: As you’re pursuing your goal, you might find it helpful to share what you’re working on. Gathering ideas from others can help you reframe your work, or even inspire a new direction!

Fresh Perspectives

When you’re creating something, you can always grow your work by asking others to contribute their ideas and inspiration. Consider what perspectives might be missing in your process and gather new possibilities that you hadn’t considered before.

Fresh Perspectives

Skill
Social Awareness
Time
45 min
Materials
Pen + Paper
Bookmarked
Bookmark
STEPS
1

Part of considering new perspectives is knowing how to give and receive feedback in a constructive way. When we ask other people for feedback, it tends to fall into one of the following categories. Explore the different types and reflect — do you find some types more useful than others?  Does this change depending on what you’re getting feedback on?

This part of what you shared with me is working well, adds value, and you shouldn’t change it.

i like

This part of what you shared with me isn’t working as well, and you should consider changing it.

i wish

Based on what you shared with me, I have a few questions and want to know more to help me understand your work better.

i wonder

After you shared this with me, I thought of some ideas that might make this project even better.

i imagine

2

Pick something you’ve been creating or practicing recently that you’d like to make even better. It could be part of a project you’re working on, something you’re making, or a skill you’re working on.

3

Create a list of a few people you know who might provide helpful feedback on this topic. You can start with people who you feel supported by, like friends or mentors. Try to also include people you don’t know who could offer new perspectives. Listening to different thoughts and opinions could make your project better in ways you might not have considered. Add a variety of people to your list, including:

my team

topic expert
Someone who knows the topic well

trusted advisor
Someone who knows you well

COMMUNITY MEMBER
Someone who might be impacted by this topic

NEW VOICE
Someone whose voice might not always be heard on the topic

4

Reach out to each person and ask for a few minutes of their time. Meet with each person and share what you’ve created or are practicing. Use the following questions to guide how you ask for feedback. You don’t need to respond to all of their input during your conversation — focus on listening and taking notes on their thoughts.

ask THEM

I LIKE — What’s working well in what I shared with you, something that I shouldn’t change?

I WISH — What are some things that aren’t working as well and could be changed?

I WONDER — Did any questions come up that would be helpful for me to answer?

I IMAGINE — Do you have any new ideas that would help improve what I shared?

5

After your chats, reflect back on the conversations and how you can take what you learned forward. Which feedback do you believe is most useful? How can you apply this feedback to what you are working on now? If you got feedback on a project, make any updates to your project plan based on what you’ve learned.

MARK AS COMPLETED
COMPLETED
Take a look at our habits below!
SkillWave2
HABITS

Seek out diverse perspectives

Immersing ourselves in a variety of perspectives helps us to push our ideas forward and prevents us from getting stuck in one way of thinking. Think about the people in your life who you get advice from. Who’s voice might be missing? How can you include perspectives that you don’t normally hear?

Listen to understand

We tend to spend a lot of our time in conversations waiting for our turn to talk. Try spending an entire conversation just listening — think about what you are hearing and ask follow up questions to learn more, without adding in any of your own thoughts.

Give productive feedback

Just as others provide you with unique perspectives, the perspective you bring can help push ideas forward in new ways. Practice giving thoughtful and productive feedback by using the framework: I like…(what’s working), I wish…(what can change), I wonder…(questions this brings up), and I imagine…(new ideas this sparks).