Sunday, July 25, 2010

Want feedback? These days you have to ask

Perhaps the most common complaint I hear from young people is, "I never hear any feedback from my News Director unless it's bad."

So you wander through your job, figuring that if you don't hear anything, you must be doing okay.

Well, your ND may think you're doing okay, but a lack of feedback isn't doing you any good.

Here's the problem with feedback; you need to be able to sort out the good from the bad, and by that I don't mean hearing that your story was great or it was lousy. I mean constructive criticism that is justified.

A few years ago I had a very talented client who had taken her tapes back to her old college instructor. She was told she had no business being a television reporter.

You guessed it, she has a very nice career going.

So, in order to find out how you're doing, you need to do two things: ask for feedback from several people, and find the common denominators in that feedback.

Who do you ask? Well, after you march into your ND's office and ask him to go over your recent stories, seek out the veterans on your staff. Trust me, those of us who are older really appreciate a young person who admits he or she doesn't know it all.

Then, sort out the feedback. Toss out the comments that aren't specific, such as, "That was a great story" or "That story didn't work." You want to hear stuff like, "You needed a nat sound break or two" or "too many soundbites with officials" or "pick up the pace on your delivery." When you start to hear the same thing from several people, you know it is something to fix or keep doing.

Sitting around waiting for help isn't going to work. The thing about help is that most people won't offer, but don't mind if asked. So don't be afraid to ask.

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