If you’re having problems coming to agreement, or you’d like practice in giving and receiving feedback, try the Perfection Game. This provides a structured format for providing positive feedback that explicitly disallows negative feedback. I find this especially helpful in breaking roadblocks when searching for better options. (The Rule of Three is also a great option in that scenario!)

This is also a great option when you need to get feedback on a number of items from a number of people without getting bogged down in endless discussion. Have each person provide their ratings for each item, with no discussion about ratings. Then, go back through the ratings however you like and get into the discussions.

Here’s a real life example from a team who used this approach for talking about all the meetings and activities they did. Getting everyone’s ratings first, and then going back and prioritizing their discussion around the items with the lowest individual ratings, was key to having a succinct and active meeting that quickly identified high-impact changes.

My favorite part of this procedure is the injunction that I must give the maximum rating when I am both unable to say something I like about the proposal and cannot come up with any way to improve it. This forces me to put skin in the game when I’d rather skate by without really participating. This also prevents me from blocking the proposal and obstructing the process.