What, So What, Now What?

If you strapped for time but need to give a quick feedback, the “What, So What, Now What” guide is a lightweight way to structure your feedback. Here’s how it works –

WHAT

Tell the person what you’re going to tell them. It might sound something like this – “We need to align on the problem…”

SO WHAT

Tell them why it’s important, either to you, to them or the situation. It might sound something like this – “… this is important because we need to validate that we’re approaching it in the right way…”

NOW WHAT

Tell them what the next steps are, how it will be tracked, and who should complete them. It might sound something like this – “… so how about we each develop a plan for this and meet later in the day to discuss?”