Hey guys. Welcome back. Thanks for coming here, right now to learn some
more. What are we doing? We are learning how to receive feedback. Sometimes
feedback you will get will be good. And our natural reaction to that will be
really happy. Yep. So we're going to learn how to graciously accept good
things that are said to us, but also how to listen to criticism, and to show that
we are emotionally mature, and resilient, to be able to want to improve
and learn from any suggestions that we are given without taking personal
offense to that person. And I think it's a very important skill that we have in
today's consumer driven society, because people have a voice, we're always
writing reviews. And, you know, we live in an email culture when people can very
quickly let you know what they think about something. So here we are, let's
learn.
First of all, what can you say, if someone says something complimentary
towards you? Well, you could say "thanks so much for your support. I really
appreciate it." So the way this sentence is constructed, it comes across as being
quite genuine. Because I've got "so", yeah, so it shows that, you know, I
really appreciate it. And we've actually even said that -- "I really" -- so it's
the "so" and the "really", that indicate that you know that this is important to
us.
Here, "It's really nice to know I'm on the right track". I say that's the kind
of thing you would say to your boss, because you want to show that you are
doing things in the way that they want you to do them. Now, the vocab I've used
here is the kind of thing that we would say in normal speech. But if you're
trying to use really good vocab, then "nice" isn't a particularly good word.
So should we think of something that we could replace "nice" with? It's, you
could say, "it's reassuring to know that..." Yep, "reassuring" I'm going to
write that down. Reassuring... reassuring to know that.
On to my next one. "That's really kind. I have to say, though, that such and
such and such a person deserves the credit." So what I'm doing there is I'm
showing that I'm not selfish, that I'm prepared to give someone else the glory
for something that went well. "That's really kind I have to say, though," that
"I have to say" it means like, I can't not do this. Yeah. I'm such a good
person that I have to do this. "They deserve the credit."
Or my fourth option, very simply: "So glad you liked it." Yeah. Maybe you've
been playing in a concert and someone saw it. "I'm glad you liked it. That's
great."
Sad face sad face. Yep, they didn't like it. So what we're trying to do here is
show that we're listening. Yep. To show that we care what that person thinks.
"Ah, okay." So I'm trying to work out are what was it that they didn't like?
"Sorry?" Yeah, I'm sorry. You didn't enjoy that. I'm sorry. You didn't enjoy
your meal at my restaurant? Well, that's good to know that the chicken soup
tastes revolting. Yep. So I'm showing that I want to make my restaurant
better. Yep. I'm going to go back into the kitchen now and improve the recipe.
Thanks for pointing it out. Yep. You're making the customer feel valued. And
you're also creating a culture where you're given suggestions for improvement
and it helps to make the restaurant better or the business better.
Okay, second way: "Yeah, you're right. I was just trying to..." So this is here,
we're being a little bit defensive because we're kind of trying to explain
what we were doing. So if I was teaching a lesson and someone watched it, and
they felt that it hadn't gone well, then I might say, "Yeah, no, you're right. I
was just trying to make it interesting for such and such a person. But by doing
that, it meant that this happened."
Okay. Right. Now, sometimes we can just have one-word sentences in English.
"Interesting." So that's short for "that is interesting", but I just say,
interesting. And then you're asking for advice. How do you think I could improve
it? How do you think I could improve it? Yeah, you're showing that you're not
closed off. You're open to feedback. Now, this comment here, this is in
response to if the other person says, "Oh, I hope you're not upset by that."
Then you say "no, no, no, no, no, not at all, me upset? No. It's great to get
some honest feedback actually. Upset? No, this is helpful stuff." Yeah, I'm
getting better.
Now, if the feedback involves someone else, then you can say, I'll certainly
pass that on. Yep. Pass it on, I will share that information. Okay, so I'm
about to rub this off now. So why don't you just pick a couple of phrases for
you to write in your book? Do you have a book, pen? Yeah. Why don't you pick one
right now? Good, because we're going on to the next page. Sometimes you might
not agree with what they say. In which case, you still need to be civil and
polite and share a good attitude. But you could invite some sort of discussion
about that. So a phrase to use maybe: "I see what you're saying but don't you
think that...?" Yeah, I see what you're saying about the chicken curry. But
don't you think the consistency is pretty good? Or... "I see what you're
saying but don't you think actually that the flavors are quite strong in that
dish? Don't be sort of: "You're wrong!" Yep. Because then we're going to have
some sort of nasty argument.
Or: "To be honest, what I was trying to do was...". "To be honest, what I was
trying to do with this chicken curry, is to give you a really nice hot meal with
lots of authentic flavors of India. But... you know, not everyone likes it.
So thank you for telling me. And I'm really sorry if you felt disappointed by
the dish, but, but do bear in mind that 99.9% of my customers have been very
happy with that dish." So we're not being a total walkover, a pushover. We
are kind of fighting our corner a little bit.
And then it's always important to try and finish on a good note. So you could
offer to try and do something to make the situation better. If you have
received criticism, would it help if I brought you out another dish? What about
if I went into the kitchen and fixed you up a dedicated...? Why don't you come
back another day and I will offer you 50% off the bill.
"I know! Let's..." Okay, so I'm not getting all upset by any criticism. I'm
thinking on my feet and I'm finding solutions that are going to work for
both of us. Okay, so let's recap. We have received compliments and we have
thanked the person for their feedback. It's best if you don't get like too
overexcited by someone saying something good. Yeah, take it. You know, it's nice
to hear, but it's not like "waaaah!". And we have received criticism, and
we've listened to the points they have to make. But if we really disagree, then
we're going to come into a discussion. And then at the end, we always make sure
we have a good conclusion to any kind of feedback.
Why don't you have a go now at doing the quiz, just to reinforce the learning and
try and memorize these phrases. If you're a subscriber, thanks, make sure
you keep watching my videos. Notifications -- let's have them, and I
will see you in the next video. If you want any extra help: honeyourenglish.com
for Skype, tuition in writing and speaking. Thanks for watching. See you
soon.