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Interactive Activities · Activity 16 of 18
Communicating Negative Feedback Correctly
How to give and receive negative feedback in a respectful, empathetic, and constructive way.
Key takeaways
- The activity, “Speaking the negative correctly”, teaches children aged 8–12 to give negative feedback constructively and empathically.
- How we say something is as important as what we say.
- Students compare two statements about a friend's mistake in a game: “You always make mistakes, you spoil the game” and “I think you mixed up the rule. If you want, I can explain it to you.”
- The class agrees that the second statement is more constructive and more motivating.
- Rules the students propose: speak kindly, avoid hurtful words, be respectful and avoid blaming.
What is the aim of this activity?
In everyday life children notice their friends' mistakes and often feel the need to point them out. When they do this in a harsh or hurtful tone, it can hurt others, damage friendships and lead to arguments. The activity teaches students to deliver negative feedback constructively and with empathy, which supports both their communication skills and their social-emotional development.
How does the activity run in class?
The teacher presents a scenario card about a friend who makes a mistake with the rules during a game, then reads two statements. The first is “You always make mistakes. You spoil the game.” The second is “I think you mixed up the rule. If you want, I can explain it to you.” Students decide which is more constructive and which would motivate their friend more.
What rules for negative feedback do students come up with?
Speak kindly, avoid hurtful words, be respectful and avoid blaming. The teacher's summary: if we speak hurtfully, our friend will be upset; if we speak constructively and empathically, we can both help and preserve the friendship.
Video transcript
Generated automatically from the video's audio or subtitles; it may contain small errors.
Activity 7, Communicating the Negative Feedback. Our title is Speaking the Negative Correctly. We have a scenario card. It will be about a student who makes a rule mistake during the game. If we summarize this activity, students learn to deliver negative feedback constructively and empathically. The speaking negative correctly is a very important activity that supports both children.
Children's communication skills and social-emotional development. In everyday life, children notice their friends' mistakes. Often they feel the need to point them out. However, when they express this in harsh, hurtful, or inappropriate voice tone, it can hurt others, damages friendships, and lead to argument.
We are going to learn very important communication skills. Sometimes we might notice a mistake a friend made or see something wrong. In these situations, how we say it is as important as what we say. If we speak hurtfully, then our friend will be upset. If we speak constructively and empathically, we can both help and preserve our friendship. Okay.
Let's say that one of our friends has made a mistake during the game. This is the card for this situation. Now, I am going to make two statements for this situation. Please be careful our statements and then we are going to say which one is more constructive and more motivating statement. The first one is: you always make mistakes.
You spoil the game. The second one: I think you mixed up the rule. If you want, I can explain it to you. Okay. My question, first question is this. Which one, do you think, was more constructive? The first statement or the second statement? Good one. And, my second question is this. Which one would motivate your friend more? Of course, you know that the second statement is more constructive and more motivating one.
Let me write the second statement. The second more constructive. Okay. Now, I want you to say the rules for saying the negative correctly. Can you tell me? Yes. Okay. You say excellent answers. Let me write on the board. Speak kindly. Another one, avoid hurtful words.
A Another one, be respectful. You said, the last one, avoid blaming or, avoid blaming. That's it. Thanks for sharing your answers.
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