# Continue Stop Start Feedback Participants draft Continue, Stop, and Start feedback notes for colleagues and exchange them in private one-on-one rounds. The full group then reconvenes to debrief the exchange process without disclosing note contents. **Time:** 50 minutes. Source indicates 20 to 60 minutes for 2 to 12 people. UWT specifies 50 minutes for a team of 4 to 8 to allow a complete round-robin rotation. **People:** 4 to 8. Individual preparation followed by sequential one-on-one pairs in round-robin turns, ending in whole-group reflection. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Exchange direct, behavioral peer feedback across a working group using a structured three-part format. **Use it when:** Use when an intact project team or cohort needs to give mutual constructive feedback at a project milestone or conclusion. **Skip it when:** Skip when group members do not have direct working experience with each other, or when active organizational conflict makes unmoderated peer critique risky. ## Materials and tools - 3 sticky notes per participant per peer (e.g., 9 to 21 notes per person in a group of 4 to 8) - 1 pen or pencil per participant - 1 interval timer operated by the facilitator - Visual prompt displaying the three sentence starters: Continue with, Stop with, Start with - Visual prompt displaying I-statement phrasing guidelines - Digital direct messaging for remote or hybrid feedback notes ## Before participants arrive 1. Arrange chairs or standing spots around the room so pairs can hold quiet private conversations without being overheard. 2. Distribute pads of sticky notes and pens to each seat. 3. Post the three feedback categories and I-statement phrasing guidelines clearly on a wall or board. ## Say this to open Today we will give and receive direct peer feedback using three prompts: Continue, Stop, and Start. You will write three separate notes for each person on the team based on your direct working experience with them. Ground every comment in observable behaviors using 'I' statements. For example, instead of writing 'You are always late to check-ins,' write 'When team check-ins start without you, I feel rushed trying to cover your updates.' You will exchange these privately in short pairs. The goal is clear, honest communication to help each of us work together better. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce format and ground rules (5 minutes) Explain the three categories: Continue with, Stop with, and Start with. Emphasize that notes must address specific actions rather than character traits, framed as personal perceptions ('When X happens, I perceive Y'). Announce that receivers listen to understand rather than debate, though anyone may choose to set a note aside without argument. ### 2. Draft individual feedback notes (10 minutes) Participants work silently. Each person writes three sticky notes for every other member in the room: one Continue, one Stop, and one Start. Remind writers to put the recipient's name on each note so notes stay organized. If someone has worked very little with a specific person, they may write observations based only on direct contact or write 'Not enough shared work to assess' for that prompt. ### 3. Conduct round-robin peer exchanges (25 minutes) Pair participants up. In an odd-sized group, one person takes a rest turn each round. Run rounds of 3 minutes until everyone meets each peer. In each round, partners hand over notes and summarize them aloud using I-messages. Receivers listen and ask questions only to clarify observations. The facilitator calls time to rotate. ### 4. Whole-group debrief (10 minutes) Reconvene the entire group. Do not ask participants to disclose the specific feedback they received. Instead, invite 3 or 4 people to share reflections on the process of giving and receiving feedback, focusing on clarity and team utility. ## Debrief questions - How was the experience of delivering specific behavioral feedback to your peers? - Did this exchange feel valuable for your ongoing work together, and in what way? - How could we adapt this format next time to make it more useful for our team? **Finished output:** Every participant holds a personalized set of tangible behavioral feedback notes from their peers to guide their work. ## Remote Prepare feedback in individual notes. During each three-minute exchange, use a one-to-one breakout and send the three feedback items directly to the current partner. Check the recipient before sending. Keep peer feedback off group-accessible documents or boards. Agree how notes may be retained or shared before starting; recipients can still save or pass on a message. ## Hybrid Split into pairs where in-person participants talk face to face and remote participants join one-on-one video breakout rooms. If an in-person member pairs with a remote member, both use individual laptops with headsets in designated quiet corners. Send typed feedback directly to the current partner and check the recipient before sending. Keep peer feedback off group-accessible documents or boards. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may type notes on a phone or laptop if handwriting on sticky notes is physically difficult. - Any participant may choose to pass on giving or receiving a specific prompt without having to justify their choice. ## If the session gets stuck **Feedback notes contain vague character judgments like 'Be more positive' rather than observable behavior.** Pause the writing phase briefly. Model how to convert that note into concrete actions: 'Start sharing your proposed alternative when you point out a flaw in a plan.' **A recipient becomes defensive or starts arguing during the peer exchange round.** Remind the room of the receiver guideline: ask questions only to clarify what the partner observed, not to debate their reaction. If disagreement persists, instruct the recipient to say 'Thank you for sharing your perspective' and review the note privately later. ## Terms used here - I-Message: A phrasing style that describes behavior and personal impact (e.g., 'When this occurs, I feel...') rather than making accusatory 'you' statements. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Project of How under the title 'Feedback for dummies', authored by Emelie Askfelt (2012). The underlying 'Continue, Stop, Start' model is a widespread retrospective technique. Retained the core three-part mechanic (Continue, Stop, Start) on sticky notes, the one-on-one rotation, and the reflection prompts from Project of How. UWT capped the group size at 8 (the original suggested 2 to 12) because a full round-robin exchange requires N-1 rounds for even totals and N rounds with one rest turn per person for odd totals (7 rounds for either 7 or 8 people). Total session duration was set to 50 minutes to allow rounds of 3 minutes each plus transitions during the exchange step. Added explicit visual materials for I-messages and tightened step descriptions to adhere to run sheet constraints. [Project of How](https://projectofhow.com/method/feedback-for-dummies/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/feedback-for-dummies-project-of-how/