Protocol
Make the receiver reconstruct the message
Sent is not the same as understood.
When it fits
- You delivered clear feedback but do not know what the other person actually took from it.
When to avoid it
- Do not use teach-back to humiliate or force agreement with an unfair interpretation; it is a communication check.
Why it matters
Ask the receiver to summarize the issue, target behavior and next step in their own words. Treat mismatches as information about the message, not as a memory test. Correct the plan while both people are present.
Steps
- What did you hear as the main issue?
- What will you do differently next time?
- What could make that difficult?
- What support or clarification is missing?
An example
The receiver repeats a different priority than the manager intended, so they fix the misunderstanding before the next task.
Check your result
Both people can state the same next behavior and success condition.
Keep this limit in mind
- Do not use teach-back to humiliate or force agreement with an unfair interpretation; it is a communication check.
Connected ideas
Useful withAsk what makes the better behavior hard
Evidence and sources
Supports
CP-FIT synthesizes feedback as a cycle in which feedback must be accepted, translated into intentions and supported into behavior; failure at one stage can stop improvement.
The theory was developed from health-care feedback interventions and transfer to other work is inferential.
Clinical Performance Feedback Intervention Theory · Results and feedback cycle