feedback sandwich

Feedback in which criticism is preceded and then followed by small amounts of praise. Likened to the filling of a sandwich being surrounded by two pieces of bread. I don't like making my team members feel bad when I need to deliver something more negative, so I usually deliver it in a feedback sandwich to soften the blow a bit. Look, feedback sandwiches don't work. If you go out of your way to praise someone and try to slip something more critical in the middle, they're just not going to take it in. A: "How am I supposed to tell this poor girl that her article wasn't good enough?" B: "Criticism sandwich?"