Feedback technique: Stop, Start, Continue

I was helping someone work on their presentation skills this week, and I suggested we do a "Stop, Start, Continue" exercise. My friend had never heard of this, so I thought it might be worth writing up in case others are in the same camp.

This technique is very straight-forward, and can be very effective and efficient. As the name implies, the goal is to observe activities, processes, etc. and come up with three distinct categories of feedback. I usually use one standard sheet of paper, and draw lines to create three sections and label them "Stop," "Start," and "Continue" so I can write notes as we go.

In the table below, you'll find brief descriptions, along with some examples from observing a presentation to give you a feel for what feedback might sound like in each category:

Start	Things you aren't doing that you would benefit from starting	Examples: "Try to make eye contact with the audience when you are speaking." "Come up with some examples you can share when you talk about <complex concept>."
Stop	Things you are doing that you would benefit from stopping	Examples: "You're saying "um" and "you know" too much, and it is distracting. Try taping yourself and practicing until you don't use those filler words so much." "Don't use acronyms unless you explain them." "Don't read the slides. Get comfortable with the material so you can cover it conversationally without reading word-for-word."
Continue	Things that are working, that you should keep doing	Examples: "Your introduction was great - I had a clear understanding of the topics you were going to cover and why you're qualified to talk about them." "Your 'can I see a show of hands for...' technique works really well to get the audience engaged with you and the topic."

As you can see, this is a pretty easy technique. If you use this technique, strive to provide specific examples that the recipient can use as a basis for improvement.

Comments

[Jason Echols]

Dwayne,

This is great stuff. We recently had some managers in our organization respond to some negative survey results with an anonymous version of the start-stop-continue exercise. It seemed to work rather well.

Thanks for the great post.

Jason

[David Zinger]

Dwayne:

I appreciate the simplicity and focus of start, stop, and continue. It makes for a good feedback tool and even a self-feedback tool that could be used in coaching or giving someone performance feedback.

I am glad you set this table...a good helping of feedback.

David

[Ariane Benefit, Neat Living]

Dwayne,

This is excellent! I love it and will use it! This approach will work great with my organizing clients!

Best,
Ariane

[Manish]

I had been practicing this exercise in almost all the sphere of my life (personal, professional). It is simple yet effective.

[IAN FARIA]

Hi Dwayne.

Thanks for a wonderful explanation on this powerful concept for giving feedback. I normally use the sandwich technique that is propagated by Toastmasters International. However, this is an interesting variation, and I am sure it would work for anyone... in some way since the negative portion comes in the middle... it is akin to the sandwich... and so it will work... as well.

All the best,

Ian Faria.