Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI)

Facilitation script

1. 1

   Present the three parts with one weak and one strong example, and state the rule that behaviour means what a camera would have recorded.

   5 min
2. 2

   Everyone silently drafts one real SBI statement for a person of their choice, positive or developmental.

   5 min
3. 3

   Form trios: giver, receiver, observer. The giver delivers the statement, the receiver says how it landed, the observer points out any judgement words.

   8 min
4. 4

   Rotate roles twice so that everyone has given, received and observed once.

   12 min
5. 5

   Introduce the optional intent question and let each trio try it on one of their examples.

   5 min
6. 6

   Debrief in plenary: what made statements clear, which part was hardest, and where the team will use the structure next.

   8 min

Tips

• The behaviour step is where most statements go wrong, so spend the practice time there: words like 'unprofessional', 'dominant' or 'supportive' are interpretations, and the observer's job is to catch them.

• Start the practice with positive feedback, which is safer and shows that vague praise is as unhelpful as vague criticism.

• Keep each statement to three or four sentences; a long SBI statement usually hides more than one piece of feedback.

Common pitfalls

• Describing an interpretation as behaviour ('you were dismissive'), which invites an argument about character instead of a conversation about what happened

• Choosing a vague situation such as 'lately' or 'in meetings', so the receiver cannot connect the feedback to a real moment

• Using the structure only for criticism, which teaches the team to brace whenever a sentence starts with 'in yesterday's meeting'

• Stopping after the impact and walking away, so the feedback is delivered but never discussed and nothing changes

• Practising with invented cases, which feels safe but gives nobody the experience of saying a real thing to a real colleague

Variations

SBII adds an inquiry about intent after the impact, which helps when the gap between what someone meant and what happened is the real issue. For a quick team round, each person gives one appreciative SBI statement to a colleague, without discussion. For preparing a single difficult conversation, use it one-to-one as a coaching tool: draft, read aloud, tighten. Remote groups practise in breakout rooms of three and collect good and weak example sentences in a shared document.

Related methods