EFE learning modules / Giving & Receiving Feedback

Giving & Receiving Feedback - Using softeners and professional responses

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Sugarcoat the pill

/ሹገርኮት ዘ ፒል/

መራራውን እውነት አጣፍጦ ማቅረብ

To make criticism or bad news seem more pleasant than it is.

ትችትን ወይም መጥፎ ዜናን ካለበት ይልቅ አስደሳች ለማድረግ መሞከር።

In Practice

"I won't sugarcoat the pill; your report needs a lot of work."
"She tried to sugarcoat the pill when giving feedback to the intern."
Fluent Tip

Used when describing how someone delivers negative feedback gently.

Walk on eggshells

/ዎክ ኦን ኤግሼልስ/

በጥንቃቄ መያዝ

To be extremely cautious about what one says or does to avoid offending someone.

ሰውን ላለማስከፋት በሚደረግ ንግግር ወይም ድርጊት ላይ እጅግ በጣም ጥንቃቄ ማድረግ።

In Practice

"Everyone is walking on eggshells around the boss today."
"I feel like I'm walking on eggshells when I give him feedback."
Fluent Tip

Used in sensitive feedback situations where the receiver is easily offended.

Read between the lines

/ሪድ ቢትዊን ዘ ላይንስ/

በተዘዋዋሪ የተነገረን መረዳት

To understand the hidden meaning in what someone says or writes.

አንድ ሰው በተናገረው ወይም በጻፈው ውስጥ የተደበቀውን ትርጉም መረዳት።

In Practice

"If you read between the lines, the supervisor is asking for more effort."
"I had to read between the lines to realize my proposal was rejected."
Fluent Tip

Used when feedback is subtle or indirect.

Pull no punches

/ፑል ኖ ፓንችስ/

እውነቱን ፊት ለፊት መናገር

To speak very directly and honestly without trying to be kind.

ደግ ለመሆን ሳይሞክሩ በጣም በቀጥታ እና በታማኝነት መናገር።

In Practice

"The manager pulled no punches during my performance review."
"I want you to pull no punches; tell me exactly what's wrong."
Fluent Tip

Used for blunt or very direct feedback.

Take it with a grain of salt

/ቴይክ ኢት ዊዝ ኤ ግሬይን ኦፍ ሶልት/

ነገሩን በጥንቃቄ መቀበል

To not completely believe something or not take it too seriously.

አንድን ነገር ሙሉ በሙሉ አለማመን ወይም በጣም አክብዶ አለመውሰድ።

In Practice

"Take his criticism with a grain of salt; he's in a bad mood."
"I took the negative comments with a grain of salt."
Fluent Tip

Used when advising someone how to receive feedback from a biased source.

Touch a sore spot

/ተች ኤ ሶር ስፖት/

ቁስልን መንካት

To mention a subject that makes someone feel sensitive or upset.

አንድን ሰው ስሜታዊ የሚያደርግ ወይም የሚያበሳጭ ርዕሰ ጉዳይ ማንሳት።

In Practice

"Mentioning the failed project touched a sore spot with the director."
"I didn't mean to touch a sore spot during our feedback session."
Fluent Tip

Used when feedback accidentally addresses a sensitive failure.

Bite your tongue

/ባይት ዩር ታንግ/

ምላስን መግታት

To stop yourself from saying something that might be offensive or hurtful.

አስከፊ ወይም አጸያፊ ሊሆን የሚችልን ነገር ከመናገር ራስን መከልከል።

In Practice

"I had to bite my tongue when the boss criticized my hard work."
"She bit her tongue instead of arguing with the feedback."
Fluent Tip

Professional self-restraint when receiving criticism.

Call a spade a spade

/ኮል ኤ ስፔድ ኤ ስፔድ/

ነገሮችን እንዳሉ መናገር

To speak plainly and describe things as they really are.

በግልጽ መናገር እና ነገሮችን በትክክል እንዳሉ መግለጽ።

In Practice

"Let's call a spade a spade: the project is behind schedule."
"The manager is known for calling a spade a spade during reviews."
Fluent Tip

Used when honesty is preferred over softeners.

Handle with kid gloves

/ሀንድል ዊዝ ኪድ ግላቭስ/

በጣም በጥንቃቄ መያዝ

To deal with someone very gently because they are sensitive.

አንድ ሰው ስሜታዊ ስለሆነ በጣም ለስለስ ባለ መንገድ መያዝ።

In Practice

"The new employee is sensitive, so handle his feedback with kid gloves."
"You don't need to handle me with kid gloves; I can take criticism."
Fluent Tip

Describing the act of using extreme softeners.

Clear the air

/ክሊር ዘ ኤር/

ጥርጣሬን ወይም አለመግባባትን ማስወገድ

To remove bad feelings or misunderstandings between people.

በሰዎች መካከል ያለን መጥፎ ስሜት ወይም አለመግባባት ማስወገድ።

In Practice

"We had a meeting to clear the air after the feedback session."
"It's better to clear the air now than to let resentment grow."
Fluent Tip

Resolving tension after a difficult feedback conversation.

Beat around the bush

/ቢት አራውንድ ዘ ቡሽ/

ነገሩን ማድበስበስ

To avoid talking about the main point of a topic.

ስለ ዋናው ጉዳይ ከመናገር መቆጠብ ወይም ማድበስበስ።

In Practice

"Don't beat around the bush; tell me what I need to improve."
"He spent ten minutes beating around the bush before giving the critique."
Fluent Tip

Describing someone who is too afraid to give direct feedback.

On the same page

/ኦን ዘ ሴም ፔጅ/

በአንድ ሃሳብ ላይ መስማማት

To have the same understanding or agreement about a situation.

ስለ ሁኔታው ተመሳሳይ ግንዛቤ ወይም ስምምነት መኖር።

In Practice

"I want to make sure we are on the same page regarding these changes."
"The feedback helped us get back on the same page."
Fluent Tip

Ensuring alignment after feedback.