Facilitator Guide

Giving Feedback

Facilitator Guide

Giving Feedback

Topic: Professionalism & Communication

What’s covered

Building a feedback culture
Structuring your feedback
Making feedback actionable
Common pitfalls to avoid
Navigating emotions

Before the session

Prepare the Attendees

Send the attendees an invitation for the session. Include this link, which has the videos and exercise they’ll need to prepare.

https://www.hotshotlegal.com/discussions/giving-feedback/attendee

Prepare Yourself

Watch the videos and read the exercise so you’re familiar with the Hotshot material.

Course

Giving Feedback

Teaches how to deliver timely, specific, and actionable feedback that helps others improve while also building trust—whether you're a midlevel supervising a junior, a junior delegating to a summer, or a team member working with professional staff.
Exercise
PDF

During the session

Part 1: Knowledge Check

Ask attendees these questions to ensure they understand the topic:

Why is it important to make feedback routine rather than saving it for formal reviews or major mistakes?
What are a few practical ways to set expectations for feedback early in a working relationship?
What makes feedback timely?
What are some common phrasing mistakes that can derail feedback conversations?
What’s a good structure for delivering feedback?
After giving feedback, what follow-up steps help make it stick and support improvement over time?

Part 2: Group Exercise

Lead a group discussion based on the exercise. To encourage collaboration, divide the attendees into groups to discuss the exercise, then have a representative from each group summarize their views to the larger group. Call on people to share their thoughts and ask others to respond.

Tip for remote sessions: use your web conferencing system’s breakout room feature to divide people into groups.

Part 3: Firm Specifics

Share your own experiences and guidance, including:

Anecdotes
General practice tips (dos and don’ts)
Firm-specific guidance and practices

After the session

To continue learning, attendees can check out related courses in Hotshot’s Professionalism & Communication topic.

About Hotshot

Hotshot helps lawyers develop their legal, business, and technology skills through short videos, quizzes, and summaries, and we help law firms and law schools plan and deliver engaging training programs. Our customers include Am Law 200 firms, top law schools, and regional and international firms.