Fun Feedback Exercises & Activities to Do With Your Team

Every once in a while, if you’re lucky, you get to work on something that is so fun you can’t believe it’s work. For me, collaborating with my team and the folks at Second City Works to create a workplace comedy series, The Feedback Loop, was one of those experiences. Not only was it fun for me, it's full of fun feedback exercises, and it's guaranteed to make feedback conversations fun for everyone.

Since Radical Candor was published, my team and I have been working hard to figure out the best ways to help teams put the ideas into practice in a way that scales but still feels human. It’s so easy to say, “Be radically candid,” and so hard to actually do it.

One of the things that people liked about the book was that I broke it down into some practical suggestions, but I think I didn’t break it down quite far enough.

So how can we learn how to practice this? What’s the best way to practice? Fun feedback activities that go along with our hour-long, five-episode series! (Read all the way to the bottom to get 10% off The Feedback Loop digital course!)

6 Fun Feedback Exercises

Engaging your team with fun feedback exercises can help create a culture of open communication and continuous improvement. Here are a few ideas you might find helpful:

1. Role Plays

Use feedback role play scenarios to mimic real life. Have team members play the roles of a feedback giver, receiver, and observer. This exercise helps individuals see the impact of their feedback in real-time and navigate emotional responses. It's effective for understanding different perspectives and practicing Radical Candor.

2. Feedback Pairs

Pair up team members and have them give each other specific and sincere praise. One of our favorite fun activities on providing feedback helps build mutual appreciation and trust within the team. You can also include kind and clear criticism to help each other grow.

3. Gauge Your Feedback

Use the Radical Candor framework and have team members rate the feedback they receive. This helps to understand if the feedback is landing as intended and provides insights for improvements.

4. The 'Tell Me Why I'm Wrong' Game

During this fun feedback exercise, encourage team members to present their ideas and invite others to challenge them directly. This fosters a culture of healthy debate and collaborative problem-solving.

5. Brainstorm and Clarify Sessions

Conduct sessions where the team can brainstorm ideas and use 'plussing' to build on each other's suggestions rather than dismissing them. Follow up with clarifying questions to refine the ideas before moving to debates.

6. Whoops-a-Daisy

One of the most successful fun feedback exercises I have used is Whoops-a-Daisy. This is a system where team members publicly admit and learn from their mistakes and win cash in the process. This promotes a culture of learning and continuous improvement.

These exercises not only make feedback fun but also help in creating a trusting and open environment where everyone feels safe to give and receive feedback.

Want Fun Feedback Activities? 5 Ways Comedy Can Help

There’s research that supports this idea that laughter is an incredibly effective way to learn and for messages to really sink in. Radical Candor is the very stuff of human drama and human relationships.

While it’s easier to be funny when you’re getting Radical Candor wrong — what I like to call Radical Candor wipeouts — even when you’re getting it right, it can be quite funny.

Comedy can play a significant role in making feedback conversations more engaging and effective. The integration of humor can help individuals relax and lower their defenses, making them more receptive to both giving and receiving feedback. Here's how comedy ties into feedback conversations:

1. Learning with Laughter

Comedy creates an enjoyable and memorable learning experience. When people laugh, they are more likely to retain information and apply it in real-life scenarios.

2. Breaking Down Barriers

Humor can break down barriers and make difficult conversations less intimidating. By incorporating elements of comedy into your fun feedback activities, actual feedback sessions can feel less like a chore and more like a collaborative and light-hearted exchange.

3. Improv Exercises

Improvisation, a staple of comedy, involves drills that teach discrete skills necessary for Radical Candor. Improv exercises can help teams engage in feedback role play scenarios and practice listening with the intent to understand rather than respond, ensuring that feedback is received and digested effectively.

4. Relatable Scenarios

Comedy often reflects real-life situations that people can relate to, making the lessons more applicable to daily work interactions.

5. Role Models of What Not to Do

Comedy can illustrate the pitfalls of poor feedback methods in an impactful way. It distinguishes between what’s Radical Candor — being kind and clear — and what’s not.

Comedy enhances the effectiveness of feedback conversations by making the learning process enjoyable, breaking down barriers, providing clear examples of dos and don'ts, and creating relatable scenarios that teams can learn from.

8 Feedback Role Play Scenarios

Feedback role play scenarios are not only one of the most effective fun feedback exercises, they're also an excellent way to practice and refine feedback skills within your team. Here are some scenarios you can use to create practical and engaging exercises:

1. Micromanaging Boss

2. Missed Deadlines

3. Specific and Sincere Praise

4. Disruptive Behavior in Meetings

5. Receiving Criticism

6. Cross-Departmental Communication Issues

7. Peer-to-Peer Feedback

8. Recognition of Consistent Performance

By following the guidelines outlined in the feedback loop playbook, you can make feedback conversations more effective, fostering a culture of Radical Candor that promotes growth, trust, and collaboration within your team.