chapters (6)
Breaking Bad News
The moment. You have to tell someone something they won't want to hear, and you don't know how to start.
What most people do
Bury it under small talk and build-up, or blurt it out with no warning at all.
Why it misfires. A long wind-up is agony - they can feel it coming and dread every word. But no warning at all is a shock. People need a second to brace before the blow lands.
The rewrite
"I'm afraid I've got some bad news. [pause] The results came back and it's not what we hoped."
The move: warn, then say it plainly. Give a short warning shot - "I've got some hard news" - then say the thing clearly, without dressing it up. The warning is the kindness; the clarity is the respect.
Your turn
Write a two-line version of a hard message: a warning shot, then the news said plainly.
Edge cases. In writing, the warning and the news can share two short sentences - don't make them scroll to find out what happened.
This week
Deliver one piece of hard news with a warning first, then the plain truth.