Sometimes you get into a situation where you know a piece of bad news (and I mean really bad news not bad luck or a slight inconvenience) that doesn’t directly impact you but you have to tell someone else that it will affect. No one likes to hear bad news but I think even more so, nobody likes to deliver it.
Delivering bad news almost makes you feel like you’re to blame for the misfortune. For my part my stomach gets tied in knots just thinking about giving out bad news. Knowing that I am about to make someone unhappy, I really don’t want to be the one to deliver it. Yet it feels as if I’m doing something wrong by withholding the news. Blurting out bad news just to relieve this feeling is the worst thing you can do. You might feel better getting it out of your system but the person hearing the bad news might not.
We’re not all alike.
Some of us are made of sterner stuff and can shrug off bad news. Then again some people fall apart at the slightest downturn. Deliver the news as you would like to be told? Not necessarily. Again you might be much tougher than the person that you’re going to tell.
Consider the situation and the person you are talking to. If possible recollect how they have received bad news in the past and how they handled it. Would telling them in a different way work better?
Timing. For my part I hate getting bad news at the end of the day. I can’t sleep if I do. As a rule of thumb it’s best done in the mornings after breakfast. The body’s needs are met, the mind has shifted from being asleep to being awake and the person’s state of mind is usually at their peak.
Manage the news. Don’t just blurt it all out like a destructive torrent. Consider what you are going to say, what the reaction might be, and what you hope will be the reaction. Tell the bad news but feed it slowly in manageable pieces.
If you care about someone, delivering bad news is a responsibility that you will have to take on some time in your life. Doing it properly and with forethought is just another way of proving that you care.
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