Most people need encouragement, to be told when they are doing something well. When offering feedback it can really help the receiver to hear first what tou like about them or what they have done well e.g. “I really liked the way you responded to Alison, however, on this occasion I did feel that you made an assumption about her without checking it out.”. Our culture tends to emphasise the negative therefore the focus is likely to be on mistakes more often than strengths. In a rush to criticise we may overlook the things we liked. If the positive is registered first, any negative is more likely to be listened to and acted upon.