What to Do on the Day

The good news is that if you’ve done all of your preparation, your performance on the day of the review should be relatively straightforward. Before you go into the room, reread the review form and peer feedback and think about the items that you think you should definitely discuss. Using the shared review form, you’ve already communicated a great deal, and both of you have written your thoughts and feelings and digested them. Remember that even if your feedback was critical, they’ve had that opportunity to assume responsibility for it. Don’t dwell on the negative side of the critique. This meeting is for an optimistic discussion on how they can progress.

How to split the meeting

A big mistake is spending the meeting just stepping through everything you’ve listed in the written review. Don’t do this. It’s not a good use of either of your time. Instead, try and split the meeting into three parts of equal size:

• A reflective discussion about the period that has just passed

• A forward-thinking discussion about the future

• A collaborative session drafting goals that they can achieve