If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- Did you know that most managers accidentally trigger a 'threat response' in their employees’ brains, and do you know the simple cognitive trick to avoid it?
- Have you ever wondered why some feedback inspires immediate growth while other advice is instantly forgotten—and what is the secret ingredient that makes the difference?
- What if you could deliver even the most difficult news in a way that leaves your team feeling supported and motivated rather than criticized?
Listen to Let's Talk — Free Audiobook
Loading player...
Key Takeaways from Let's Talk
- Discover the three distinct types of feedback—appreciation, coaching, and evaluation—and understand exactly when to use each one to prevent confusion and improve performance.
- Learn why delivering feedback on the same day is crucial and how listening first can significantly reduce an employee's stress when receiving difficult criticism.
- Understand the danger of 'the script will save me' mindset, and find out why over-preparing your exact words makes you focus more on speaking than effectively listening.
- Master the collaborative approach to problem-solving by siding with the employee rather than the issue, ensuring your team feels supported rather than helpless.
- Find out how to effectively deliver bad news by explicitly stating your good intentions, which helps prevent the natural human tendency to attack the messenger.
Let's Talk — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: To give feedback effectively, consider whether your employee needs appreciation, coaching, or evaluation today.
Chapter 3: When offering feedback, adopt a flexible, compassionate, and forgiving mindset.
Chapter 4: Make your good intentions clear by explicitly stating what you want for your employee and acknowledging her worries.
Chapter 5: Listen relationally, not critically, and validate your employee's emotions.
Chapter 6: Be generous with your praise, especially for we-strengths that truly elevate a team.
Chapter 7: Deliver negative feedback with a growth mindset and in a private setting.
Chapter 8: To prevent surprises, check in with your employees regularly.
Let's Talk Summary & Overview
Let’s Talk: Make Effective Feedback Your Superpower (2021) is a guide to handling one of the trickiest parts of being a manager – giving feedback. Dr. Therese Huston draws upon her cognitive psychology research and her experience as an educator and consultant to help you understand how to give feedback in a way that benefits everyone involved.
Who Should Listen to Let's Talk?
- Managers
- Anyone interested in effective communication
- Bearers of bad news
Books Similar to Let's Talk
Readers who enjoyed this also liked these titles.
Feedback (and Other Dirty Words)
★ 4.3 / 5 • 151 ratingsWhy We Fear It, How to Fix It
Thanks for the Feedback
★ 4.3 / 5 • 226 ratingsThe Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well
Firm Feedback in a Fragile World
★ 0.0 / 5 • 0 ratingsHow to Build a Winning Culture with Critical Conversations
Can We Talk?
★ 4.4 / 5 • 526 ratingsSeven Principles for Managing Difficult Conversations at Work