Tuesday, February 23, 2010

BetterMe Helps You Give and Receive Honest Feedback Without the Awkwardness [Advice]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/gSoDS8CP2Hk/betterme-helps-you-give-and-receive-honest-feedback-without-the-awkwardness

It can be awkward asking for honest feedback from the people around you, but knowing how others perceive us is important to self improvement. New service BetterMe helps you solicit advice from others without putting them on the spot.

If you're wondering, for instance, if you talk too much during meetings, BetterMe can help you find out without cornering a co-worker to ask. Just sign up for a free account, then send an email to your colleagues via the service asking how you come across in meetings. They can respond to you anonymously and honestly, no hard feelings. Log in to your account to see responses and get feedback.

BetterMe can also be a tactful way to handle sharing feedback with others. Is the entire office annoyed at the team member who yaps away loudly on her cell phone all day? Use BetterMe to send a gentle—and anonymous—email to call her attention to the issue. Conversely, you can also use the site to send a verbal pat on the back to someone who's done a great job and deserves some praise.

Sure, there's the possibility that someone will misuse the service to deliberately hurt someone's feelings, but we think the premise of BetterMe is a great one. Many of us would love to get an honest opinion on everything from personality quirks to a new haircut, but don't want to corner our friends. BetterMe gives us a great way to ask others to help us improve without making them feel uncomfortable. Keep in mind that there's still a time and place for a good face-to-face, and in many instances confronting someone is actually important. For the other times, BetterMe is an interesting option.