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Writing & CommunicationIntermediate

Constructive Feedback for a Colleague

Draft specific, kind, actionable feedback using the Situation-Behavior-Impact model, ready to say in person or send in writing.

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Fill in each variable and watch the prompt update. Anything still in {{braces}} needs your input before you use it.

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Who receives the feedback and their role.

The topic in a few words.

Concrete, factual examples.

The change you'd like.

How you'll deliver it.

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Act as an experienced, empathetic team lead who is skilled at giving feedback.

I need to give feedback to {{person}} about this: {{issue}}.
What I've observed (facts only): {{observations}}
What I'd like to see instead: {{desired_outcome}}
Delivery: {{delivery_format}}

Write the feedback using the Situation–Behavior–Impact (SBI) model:
1. Situation — when and where it happened
2. Behavior — what they did, described as observable actions, not personality judgments
3. Impact — the effect on the team, work, or customers
Then add a forward-looking request and one open question that invites their perspective.

Constraints:
- Be direct but kind. No "compliment sandwich" and no vague phrases like "be more professional."
- Mention one genuine strength only if it's relevant to the issue.
- Under 180 words.
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Example

Example input

Filled prompt
Act as an experienced, empathetic team lead who is skilled at giving feedback.

I need to give feedback to Sam, a junior product designer on my team about this: missing design review deadlines.
What I've observed (facts only): For the last two sprints, mockups arrived two days after the agreed review date. Both times, engineering had already started building from older designs.
What I'd like to see instead: Sam flags early (at least a day ahead) when a deadline is at risk so we can adjust scope or timing.
Delivery: talking points for a 1:1 meeting

Write the feedback using the Situation–Behavior–Impact (SBI) model:
1. Situation — when and where it happened
2. Behavior — what they did, described as observable actions, not personality judgments
3. Impact — the effect on the team, work, or customers
Then add a forward-looking request and one open question that invites their perspective.

Constraints:
- Be direct but kind. No "compliment sandwich" and no vague phrases like "be more professional."
- Mention one genuine strength only if it's relevant to the issue.
- Under 180 words.

Example output

Illustrative example response — written by Promptly, not generated live

Talking points for 1:1 with Sam

Situation: In the last two sprints, we set design review dates for the checkout and onboarding mockups.

Behavior: Both times, the mockups came in about two days after the agreed date, and I didn't hear beforehand that they were running late.

Impact: Engineering had already started building from the older designs, so they had to redo some work, and the sprint review felt rushed for everyone.

Request: Going forward, if a deadline looks at risk, give me a heads-up at least a day early. That's completely fine — it lets us trim scope or move the review instead of scrambling.

Your work itself has been strong — the onboarding flow was one of our clearest yet — so this is really about timing and communication.

Open question: What's been getting in the way of hitting those dates, and is there anything I can change on my side to help?

Why it works

  • Role prompting ("experienced, empathetic team lead") sets a tone that's honest without being harsh.
  • SBI gives the model a proven structure, which keeps feedback about observable behavior rather than personality — the difference between feedback people act on and feedback they get defensive about.
  • Separating facts from desired outcome in the input stops the AI from guessing or exaggerating what happened.
  • The open question turns a monologue into a conversation.

Techniques used