How To Make The Most Of The 30% Feedback Strategy

This post outlines a feedback strategy to help you, or your students, signal progress and receive feedback successfully.
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30 Percent Feedback Strategy

Feedback strategy is often focused on Giving feedback, but this is only part of the process. We have lots of assessment tactics for providing, offering and giving feedback, but little on receiving it.

This post outlines a feedback strategy to help you or your students receive feedback successfully.

The Feedback Dynamic

“It takes two to tango”, as the song goes, and the dynamic of feedback depends on a relationship between two (or more) people.

  1. The feedback giver
  2. The receiver of feedback

It is common for us to have feedback strategies for giving feedback, but we can also develop feedback strategies to receive critique effectively.

Receiving feedback has a unique set of skills, strategies, and dispositions. We overlook these too often and then wonder why feedback is not effective.

The 30 Percent Feedback Strategy

30% feedback is a feedback strategy for the receiver. It signals to the feedback giver your overall progress. Is it 30% complete or 90% complete?

You are referring to the progress of whatever you are making or creating. You might be writing an article or essay or creating a piece of artwork. Whatever the subject of the feedback is, signal the progress you believe you have made.

Consider these two statements: “This is 95% complete” and “I just started, it is about 10% done”. Imagine the mindset of these two people or students. Do you notice the difference? The different attitudes are essential to the effective receiving of feedback.

Don’t Polish Anything

I first came across this technique from Jason Freedman’s blog post and realised how useful it would be for students seeking feedback from others. Jason explains that he learned it from a colleague at 42Floors:

It’s a trick I learned from our investor, Seth Lieberman.  It came about because I once asked him for feedback on a product mockup, and he asked if I felt like I was ninety percent done or thirty percent done. If I was ninety percent done, he would try to correct me on every little detail possible because otherwise a typo might make it into production. But if I had told him I was only thirty percent done, he would gloss over the tiny mistakes, knowing that I would correct them later.  He would engage in broader conversations about what the product should be.

In this particular case, I was indeed ninety percent done and so we debated a few details, I got my pat on the back, and I moved on.

As he was leaving, he said:

“Next time come to me when you’re only thirty percent done and I’ll give you thirty percent feedback.”

So a few months later on a different project, I came to him with some questions on a project that was still in its early stages and we wrestled with the direction together.  I didn’t polish anything and he made sure not to critique things he knew I would fix later.  It was really freeing. I knew I wasn’t putting my best foot forward and he didn’t care.  He was able to help me shift course without the sunk cost of throwing away a ton of work.  Really awesome.

Jason Freedman

Imagine the time and energy you save if the feedback you offer is more targeted and you respond to these precise progress signals.

Your Progress Bar

For students, it could be as simple as a progress bar with their work.

  • What percentage do you think you have completed?
  • How much more do you think there is to do?

Before you receive feedback, signal to the other person your progress, talk about the features of early feedback and how later feedback is different.

Progress bar feedback strategy

The progress bar could even have markers for when to seek feedback to help structure those opportunities.

A Mindset Ready for Feedback

We need to help our students be open to feedback much earlier on in the making process.

Whether writing, drawing or building, being open to early feedback takes a specific, deliberate mindset switched to ‘open’ and ‘growth’.

This strategy’s key to success is a shared understanding of 30% or 90% feedback. We can develop our understanding of these levels and increase our readiness to offer the most appropriate support.

This responsibility also falls on the receiver. The additional signals they can offer to help us improve what they are doing.

Just remember feedback is a two-way street. We may refine our protocols for giving feedback, but there are many strategies we can implement to help us and our students receive feedback successfully.

48 comments

  1. A really great strategy and I love that it makes us consider the value of formative feedback not just summative feedback, at the end of a task..

  2. Dear Tom,
    Your excellent post gave me some ideas, and I’ve used this strategy with my students using Google Drive & Google Classroom.
    Here is a blog post (in French!): http://wp.me/p28Np-pz
    (If it’s OK with you, I’ve used and credited the picture showing the completion percentage.)

  3. Another great post Tom. I really love the level of honesty needed and the level of self awareness as to where your “outcome” is at. I suppose the challenging comes when the creator says they are 90% done and you have 30% feedback to give! I like the way that the critique protocols apply equally to 30% and 90% feedback and are equally valuable at all levels. Thanks for sharing.

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