Score-and-Subtract Feedback
Ask for a 0-10 score and what 20% to cut to get honest, usable feedback
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 84%
Grant's feedback method has two moves. First, ask for a numeric score (0-10) rather than open praise, then always follow it with 'how can I get closer to 10?' The number forces specificity, and the follow-up converts any score into an improvement tip. The deeper mechanism is frequency: like a diver getting scored on 40-50 dives per practice, if you collect dozens of scores a week no single one bruises you — you build resilience to tough scores while accumulating knowledge to avoid them. Second, to counter people's reluctance to criticise, ask 'if you had to cut 20% from this, what would you get rid of?' This exploits subtraction: research (Klotz and Adams) shows people default to adding suggestions and forget our plates are already full, so asking what to remove surfaces the weak material that should be triaged out and makes room for the gems to be polished.
Origin
Grant traces this to his years as a competitive diver being scored on every dive, later adapted to his public speaking; the subtraction prompt draws on Klotz and Adams's research on the addition bias.
Core principles
- 01Frequent low-stakes scores build resilience no single score can dent
- 02People sugarcoat open feedback but will answer a specific number
- 03Asking what to cut beats asking what to add — subtraction improves faster
- 04The weak parts, not the good parts, are what need triaging out
How to run it
- 1
Ask for a number
Right after a talk or performance, ask people to rate it 0 to 10. A specific number bypasses the vague reassurance people default to.
Pro tip Very rarely does anyone say 10 — the gap is where your improvement lives.
- 2
Convert the score to a tip
Whatever number they give — a six or a three-and-a-half — follow with 'how can I get closer to 10?' so every score yields something actionable.
- 3
Collect scores often
Gather scores frequently — dozens a week if you can — so no individual score carries enough weight to wound you. Frequency builds resilience and knowledge simultaneously.
Pro tip Done once a year a score is devastating; done constantly it becomes second nature.
Watch out Rare feedback never lets you build the skin to handle it — you never build thick enough skin from a quarterly review.
- 4
Ask what to cut
To get past people's reluctance to criticise, ask 'if you had to cut 20%, what would you get rid of?' The weak material rises to the top of the list.
Pro tip Subtraction beats addition — cutting what's not working improves the whole more than piling on new things.
Watch out People instinctively add suggestions and forget your plate is already full.
In the wild
As a self-described shy introvert, Grant made public speaking a skill by getting off stage and immediately asking anyone nearby for a 0-to-10 score, then 'how can I get closer to 10?' Because he collected dozens of scores a week, no single tough score devastated him, and each tip compounded. At the end of this very episode he turned the method on Chris, asking for his score and what 20% he'd cut — and got two concrete notes (get the headphones working; move faster through study citations).
→ Turns vague reassurance into a stream of specific, resilience-building improvements.
Common mistakes
Asking for feedback too rarely
An annual or one-off score lands hard because you never habituate. Frequent scoring is what makes tough feedback survivable and useful.
Asking what to add instead of cut
People default to piling on suggestions, ignoring that your plate is full. Asking what to remove surfaces the weak material that actually needs to go.
Is it for you?
Best for
Anyone building a repeatable skill — speakers, writers, performers — who wants candid input often.
Not ideal for
People who take feedback rarely, for whom a single blunt score would sting disproportionately.
From the transcript
“I would immediately ask anybody I encountered like what's your zero to 10 and no matter what score they gave... I would just ask them…”
“if you had to cut 20% from this talk just tell me what would you get rid of”
“one of the best ways to improve something is to cut away what's not working to subtract”
From the episode
How To Overcome Your Fear Of Failure & Unlock Your Potential - Adam Grant - #885
Adam Grant