--- description: Positive feedback helps other people understand what they did well title: This Is the Best Way to Help Other People Grow image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67dfc85bc4289cac/698865c1196cf4f07d03840f/coworkers-office-working.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Careers & Workplace](/tag/careers-workplace/) ## Careers & Workplace Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Is the Best Way to Help Other People Grow by [Auren Hoffman / Quora](/author/quora/) ## Auren Hoffman / Quora Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 29, 2015 5:04 PM CUT  Two architects working on project in office Two architects working on project in officeGetty Images by [Auren Hoffman / Quora](/author/quora/) ## Auren Hoffman / Quora Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 29, 2015 5:04 PM CUT [_Answer_](https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-best-way-to-constructively-criticize-someone-for-positive-improvement/answer/Auren-Hoffman "undefined")_by_[_Auren Hoffman_](https://www.quora.com/Auren-Hoffman "undefined")_,_ _CEO of LiveRamp_ _,_ _on_ [_Quora_](http://www.quora.com/ "undefined")_._ Positive feedback, when applied correctly, is the single best way to get most people to grow. First, some definitions: “Constructive feedback” is when you give someone advice, feedback, etc. on how to improve. You might be taking a golf lesson and your instructor suggests you shift your weight a little to the left. This is specific, targeted and timely feedback that helps millions of people every day. It can really help people stop doing things that are less productive and also help people start doing things that are more productive. Constructive feedback has been the practice of choice for many great managers, coaches, parents, etc. “Positive feedback” is when you explain to someone what they did well. Most people think this type of feedback is “great job,” “thanks for staying late,” or something like that. But the best positive feedback is when you dissect _why_ or _how_ someone did something good. A good tennis instructor will walk a player through _how_ they hit the serve so well or _why_ one of their forehands had so much power. They key for positive feedback to work well is to teach the person something. Just saying “great job” can be helpful, but often people don’t always know why it was so great. You need to explain why something was good. Even in relationships, positive feedback can be really helpful. Saying “I love you” a lot is great. Telling someone _why_ you love them is even better. Great positive feedback, like great constructive feedback, is specific, timely and targeted. It doesn’t need to happen immediately after an action, but it does need to happen while the memories are still fresh. _This question originally appeared on_ [_Quora: What’s the best way to constructively criticize someone for positive improvement?_](https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-best-way-to-constructively-criticize-someone-for-positive-improvement "undefined") _More from Quora:_ * [What are some mistakes startups make when building out a sales team?](https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-mistakes-startups-make-when-building-out-a-sales-team/?ref=forbes&rel%5Fpos=1 "undefined") * [What can people start doing now that will help them a lot in about five years?](https://www.quora.com/What-can-people-start-doing-now-that-will-help-them-a-lot-in-about-five-years?ref=forbes&rel%5Fpos=2 "undefined") * [As a CEO, do you prefer an arrogant high performer or a mediocre employee?](https://www.quora.com/As-a-CEO-do-you-prefer-an-arrogant-high-performer-or-a-mediocre-employee?ref=forbes&rel%5Fpos=3 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4051942/feedback-help-others/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4051942/feedback-help-others/"},"headline":"This Is the Best Way to Help Other People Grow","datePublished":"2015-09-29T17:04:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:18:56.214Z","description":"Give good feedback","url":"https://time.com/4051942/feedback-help-others/","keywords":["Careers & Workplace","relationships","advice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67dfc85bc4289cac/698865c1196cf4f07d03840f/coworkers-office-working.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Auren Hoffman / Quora"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67dfc85bc4289cac/698865c1196cf4f07d03840f/coworkers-office-working.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"coworkers-office-working","caption":"coworkers-office-working","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/careers-workplace/","name":"Careers & Workplace"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4051942/feedback-help-others/","name":"This Is the Best Way to Help Other People Grow"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Tony Robbins: How to be a better person","description":"Tony Robbins talks about his 37-year long career as a life coach.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/pwTCW5Bo/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-11T15:52:35.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pwTCW5Bo.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4051942/feedback-help-others/","duration":"PT1M30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4051942/feedback-help-others/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```