HHIPP — The Rules of Good Guidance
Humble, Helpful, Immediate, In-person, Praise in public, criticize in Private.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 90%
HHIPP is Scott's mnemonic for the rules of giving both praise and criticism. The two H's are Humble and Helpful: frame feedback as candor (a dialogue about how you each see the situation) rather than 'the truth,' and state your intention to help. The I's are Immediate and In-person: don't wait, and have the conversation synchronously so you can gauge how it lands. The P's are Praise in public, criticize in Private. Scott notes Slack, text, and email are 'feedback train wrecks' because you can't read the reaction and adjust.
Origin
Scott developed HHIPP as a teachable distillation of what makes feedback work, drawing on years of coaching managers after Radical Candor. She jokes it's really 'HHIPP corn' because it pairs with the CORN acronym for structuring the content.
Core principles
- 01Candor implies dialogue ('here's how I understand it, how do you see it?'), not a pipeline to the truth.
- 02State your intention to be helpful — praise shows what to do more of, criticism what to do less of.
- 03Give feedback immediately; the longer you hold it, the weirder the conversation gets.
- 04Have the conversation synchronously and in person where possible; praise in public, criticize in private.
How to run it
- 1
Be Humble and Helpful
Approach feedback as candor, not truth: 'here's how I understand the situation, and I want to know how you understand it.' State your helpful intent — e.g. 'I can tell you care about this project, I've got an idea that'll help.'
Pro tip Framing it as 'candor' invites dialogue; framing it as 'the truth' implies you have a pipeline to God and they don't.
Watch out Don't use feedback to establish dominance, coerce, or humiliate.
- 2
Make it Immediate and In-person
Give feedback quickly rather than hoarding it, and deliver it in a real two-way conversation. In hybrid settings, if you can't be in person, pick up the phone — anything synchronous.
Pro tip Synchronous delivery lets you gauge how it's landing and take the next step to adjust.
Watch out Text, email, and Slack strip out the reaction you need to read — Slack is 'a feedback train wreck waiting to happen.'
- 3
Praise in public, criticize in Private
Deliver praise where others can hear it and criticism one-on-one. Keep criticism about actions, not personality attributes, which are hard to change.
Watch out Making feedback about someone's personality gives them nothing actionable to change.
In the wild
Scott contrasts a synchronous phone call — where you can hear the person's reaction and course-correct — with firing off feedback over Slack or email, where you can't take the next step of gauging how it landed.
→ She concludes Slack is good for many things but not feedback, and insists on real back-and-forth conversation.
Common mistakes
Saving up criticism instead of giving it immediately
The longer you hold feedback, the more it builds and the weirder the eventual conversation becomes.
Delivering criticism over text or email
Asynchronous channels prevent you from reading the reaction and adjusting, so the feedback misfires.
Is it for you?
Best for
Anyone giving day-to-day praise and criticism who wants a memorable checklist for doing it well.
Not ideal for
Written asynchronous cultures where synchronous conversation genuinely isn't feasible.
From the transcript
“candor implies more of a dialogue. If I say, "I'm going to tell you the truth," I'm kind of implying like I've got a pipeline…”
“Slack is a feedback train wreck rate waiting to happen. Don't... it is not good for feedback.”
From the episode
Kim Scott: Radical Candor, How to Say What You Mean Without Being A Jerk
Kim Scott