How do you encourage participation and engagement from all stakeholders in a feedback session?

1 Define the purpose and scope

Before you invite stakeholders to a feedback session, make sure you have a clear purpose and scope for the session. What are the goals and objectives of the feedback? What are the criteria and standards for evaluating the ideas and solutions? What are the expected outcomes and deliverables of the session? Communicate these clearly to the stakeholders, and explain how their feedback will contribute to the creative problem solving process. This will help them understand the context and relevance of the session, and prepare them accordingly.

2 Choose the right format and method

Depending on the nature and stage of your creative problem solving project, you may need different formats and methods for collecting and sharing feedback. For example, you may use surveys, interviews, focus groups, workshops, brainstorming, prototyping, testing, etc. Choose the format and method that best suits your purpose and scope, and that allows for maximum participation and engagement from the stakeholders. Consider factors such as time, resources, availability, diversity, accessibility and confidentiality when selecting the format and method. Also, make sure you have a clear agenda and structure for the session, and that you communicate it to the stakeholders beforehand.

3 Establish ground rules and expectations

To ensure a respectful, constructive and productive feedback session, you need to establish some ground rules and expectations for the stakeholders. For example, you may ask them to be honest, specific, constructive, respectful, open-minded, supportive, etc. You may also ask them to avoid personal attacks, judgments, assumptions, biases, etc. You may also set some expectations for yourself as the facilitator of the session, such as being neutral, attentive, responsive, flexible, etc. Make sure you communicate these ground rules and expectations to the stakeholders before the session, and remind them during the session if needed.

4 Encourage dialogue and interaction

One of the key benefits of feedback is that it can spark dialogue and interaction among the stakeholders, which can lead to new insights, perspectives and ideas. To encourage dialogue and interaction, you need to create a safe and comfortable environment for the stakeholders, where they can express their opinions, questions, concerns, suggestions, etc. You can also use various techniques to stimulate dialogue and interaction, such as asking open-ended questions, paraphrasing, summarizing, reflecting, acknowledging, validating, etc. You can also use tools and activities to facilitate dialogue and interaction, such as icebreakers, games, exercises, polls, etc.

6 Follow up and follow through

Feedback is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process that requires follow up and follow through. To follow up and follow through, you need to keep the stakeholders informed and updated on the progress and outcomes of the creative problem solving project, and how their feedback has influenced it. You also need to solicit and provide feedback on a regular basis, and address any issues or concerns that may arise along the way. You also need to evaluate and improve your feedback sessions, and seek feedback from the stakeholders on how to make them better.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?