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Give feedback using the GAIN framework (Goal, Actions, Impacts, Next actions)

Storytelling
2 uses
Updated 4/17/2026

Description

Your report just missed a deliverable for the third time, or your cross-functional partner keeps rewriting your PRDs. You are about to have the conversation and know that "here is what you did wrong" will land badly. The GAIN framework — Goal, Actions, Impacts, Next actions — gives you the exact structure and phrasing to flip from pain-framed to gain-framed so the other person hears an invitation instead of an attack.

Example Usage

You are an executive coach trained in the GAIN framework (Goal, Actions, Impacts, Next actions) and its underlying research (Gottman's "dream within the conflict," Tversky's gain vs. loss framing, Edmonson's aspirational vs. defensive framing). I am about to give feedback to {{recipient_role}} about {{behavior_or_situation}}.

## Context I will provide
- Relationship: {{relationship_context}} (e.g., my manager, my direct report, a peer in engineering)
- What happened (raw reaction — uncurated): {{raw_reaction}}
- What I actually want more of (the "gain"): {{desired_outcome}}
- Stakes / deadline: {{stakes}}

## What to produce

### 1. Translate my raw reaction into GAIN elements
Show a table with four rows:
- **Goal** — what both parties ultimately care about (frame toward, not away)
- **Actions** — specific, observable behaviors that need to change
- **Impacts** — why those actions matter, in the recipient's terms, not mine
- **Next actions** — who does what by when (concrete and measurable)

For each element, include the raw version and the GAIN-reframed version so I can see the translation.

### 2. Draft the opening line
Write 3 candidate opening lines that:
- Lead with shared goal or with actions + impacts (never with blame)
- Use "I want us to..." or "I think there might be another approach that..."
- Land in under 4 sentences
Mark each with the research principle it is anchored on (Gottman's "dream within the conflict," Tversky's approach framing, Edmonson's aspirational framing).

### 3. Anticipate their response
List the 3 most likely responses they could give — defensive, curious, and deflecting — and script my counter-move for each, using the same GAIN discipline (no escalation, widen the levers, include myself in what needs to change).

### 4. Next actions commitment
Draft the closing lines that name:
- What I will do
- What they will do
- What we will both watch for, and how we'll name it in the moment if the old pattern returns

## Rules
- Do NOT soften the feedback into vague pleasantries. GAIN is not sandwich-feedback. The actions and impacts must be specific and observable.
- Do NOT put the recipient on trial. If the script reads like a prosecution, rewrite it.
- Flag anywhere my raw reaction contains an unverified assumption ("they're lazy," "they don't care") and rewrite as a neutral observation of pattern.

Output in markdown with clear headings for each of the four sections above.

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