EPISODE 26


What to do about Blank Stares

Biggest Takeaways You Don't Want to Miss:
  • There are 3 big reasons your feedback may produce blank stares. The better you understand these reasons, the better you can adjust your feedback so that you avoid confusion in the first place.
  • The way that we have been taught to give feedback may actually be unintentionally creating blank stare moments.
  • When we adjust our feedback to focus on the root cause, not only do we give people real clarity about what their best next step should be, we give them the confidence that they can actually act on our feedback and see meaningful improvements in their classrooms.

Have you ever been in a post-observation conference and you’re sitting there going over your feedback with a teacher and you see a blank look cross that teacher’s face and you know that she is no longer hearing you?

Or maybe you’re sharing feedback with a teacher and he is nodding and acting like he’s listening but you know that he is not really hearing anything you say?

It’s so frustrating isn’t it when you are sharing really important information with someone, information that is critical to their success, and they don’t react at all. They just sit there and take it and you know they aren’t listening to you, they’re just going through the motions.

But while we may think those blank stares are really about people who were trying to tune us out or we interpret blank stares as a subtle form of resistance there is usually something much deeper going on.

So today, we’re going to talk about what’s behind those blank stares and how we can get through to people even when it seems as if they are shutting us out. By the end of this episode, you’ll know exactly how to overcome blank stares  #likeabuilder.

Check out these highlights:
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    Why giving feedback and being met with blank stares is so frustrating.
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    How the way we typically give people feedback can erode their confidence and make them shut down.
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    Why using terms like “rigor,” “student engagement,” and “differentiation” may actually be leading to blank stares during a feedback conversation.
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    Why the way we traditionally have given feedback leaves our feedback open to interpretation and easier to ignore.
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    What you can do to make your feedback instantly more meaningful.
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    How you can turn a blank stare moment into a real opportunity to have a meaning feedback conversation that empowers teachers to act on your feedback and see improvement.
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