Although feedback from teachers to students occupies a central role in learning and instruction, the manner in which feedback functions in performance improvement remains unclear. The current study examined how students' sensitivity to feedback and variations in the wording of feedback messages impacted public speaking performance. Results indicated that students high in feedback sensitivity exhibited preferred speaking behaviors when messages were worded in a manner that was less likely to be taken as a direct, personal criticism (low intensity). Students low in feedback sensitivity appeared to be less adversely impacted by high intensity messages. Overall, markedly different relations between student feedback sensitivity and speaking behaviors appeared for students exposed to high intensity feedback messages compared with students exposed to low feedback intensity.