Situation
Anchor the moment. "In yesterday's architecture review, when we were discussing the caching layer…" Specific > general, always.
Behaviour
What you observed, not what you interpreted. "You interrupted Priya three times and finished her sentence twice" — not "You dominated the conversation."
Impact
What effect it had — on the outcome, the team, or you. "The room stopped hearing her proposal, and I think we made a worse decision because of it."
Then invite, don't lecture
End with a question, not a directive: "How did that land for you?" The person owns the change; you own the observation.
Common pitfalls
- — Sandwiching feedback in fake praise. Adults see through it.
- — Saving feedback for the 6-month review. If it's worth saying, it's worth saying this week.
- — Only giving corrective feedback. Reinforcing SBI is how good behaviour compounds.