Give feedback with SBI

The Situation-Behaviour-Impact model (from the Center for Creative Leadership) makes feedback specific and hard to argue with: when and where it happened, the observable behaviour (what a video camera would have recorded), and its impact on you, the team or the work. It fails when the "behaviour" is a judgement ("you were rude", "you're not a team player"), when the impact is a guess about motives ("you clearly don't care"), or when the feedback ends without a request or a chance for the other person to explain. The same model makes praise specific enough to be repeated.

Turn this into feedback, delivered in-personOnly if [RECIPIENT] is given: to [RECIPIENT]:

1. If there is no specific instance (only a general complaint like "he's always negative"), ask for one or two concrete examples with when and where, and stop.
2. Pull out the judgements, labels and assumed motives in my description. Note each one and replace it with the observable behaviour behind it. If I describe no observable behaviour behind a judgement, drop the judgement and say so.
3. Situation: when and where, specific and recent.
4. Behaviour: what they said or did, factually, with no adjectives about their character.
5. Impact: the effect on me, the team, a customer or the work, stated as my experience ("I", "we") or as a fact. No speculation about why they did it.
6. Request: the specific change I want to see (or, for positive feedback, what to keep doing). Make it something they can actually do.
7. Invitation: an open question that asks for their view, because I may be missing context.
8. Render for the channel. In person: a short opening line, then talking points, not a speech. Written: a short message, and if the feedback is critical and significant, recommend a conversation instead or in addition, because criticism lands harder in writing.

• Keep it to one issue. If my description contains several, pick the most important and list the others for another time.
• Do not soften the point until it disappears, and do not add a "compliment sandwich" unless the praise is real and specific.
• Respect the relationship: feedback to a manager or a peer is framed as a request or an observation, not an instruction.
• Do not invent details about the situation.

Feedback

The words to say (in person) or the message (written).

SBI breakdown

A table: Situation | Behaviour | Impact | Request | Invitation.

Judgements removed

Bullets: original wording → what replaced it, or "dropped: no behaviour described". "None" if none.

Before you deliver

Two to four tips on timing, privacy and mindset for this case, plus any other issues to save for later.

Input: "Priya was rude in the client call, she basically ignored my slides." Behaviour: "In Tuesday's call with Acme, when I reached slide 4, you moved the discussion to pricing before I'd covered the timeline." Impact: "The client asked about the timeline again at the end, and we ran out of time to answer." Judgement removed: "rude", "ignored my slides".