Fact or feeling? Ask every time.
A one-question filter for separating what's actually true from what just feels true in the moment.
- Maggie Reed's "fact or feeling?" habit and how she uses it
- A three-question exercise to run the filter on your last hard moment
- A this-week action plan and a quick-reference page you can pin up
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The Fact-or-Feeling Filter · 8 pages · PDF
What's inside
Where the filter comes from
Maggie Reed's daily habit of sorting fact from feeling, and her case for non-leading questions.
The habits behind it
Why the filter works under pressure, illustrated by a job-site update that opened with an alarm.
Run the filter
Three questions to apply to the last thing someone said that really landed on you.
This week
Three actions, from using the filter out loud to making one decision you've been carrying.
Results and feedback from Velocity's leadership work
“Now associates understand themselves better, and leaders have new tools to support their teams.”
“Velocity challenged our team and brought us together in ways that have paid immediate dividends.”
Why leaders decide on the alarm
When something lands hard, the reaction often arrives before the facts do.
Reacting to the Alarm
Facts are one thing and the alarm attached to them is another. Leaders who can't separate the two decide on the alarm.
Leading the Witness
Questions that confirm what you already believe hide the information you need.
Refusing to Decide
Putting off a decision is still a decision. Reed keeps a note nearby that says "just decide already."
From reaction to clarity
A simple filter holds up under pressure when the whole team uses the same language.
SORT
Ask "fact or feeling?" out loud in real moments of friction so the team separates facts from the alarm.
ASK
Practice clarifying questions that gather information instead of pitching an idea and asking for agreement.
DECIDE
Velocity helps leaders build clear decision habits through coaching, leadership development, and team workshops.
Help your team sort fact from feeling
Download the guide, then talk with us about building clearer decisions into how your team works.