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personal matters
How to Break Bad News in a Good Way
Delivering difficult news isn't easy to do, nor is it easy to receive difficult news. As the person delivering the news, I know that my job is easier if I think about how the information will be received. Rhonda Scharf shares her views
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magine that you have to tell your mother that a horrific accident has happened, or that you have to tell an employee that her job has been made redundant. Or anything else you can think of that would provoke strong emotions very quickly. What would you say to the receiver of the bad news to help them in that very stressful moment? One thing you shouldn’t say is, “stay calm.” If you’ve ever been told to calm down when you are emotional, you know that phrase can be like adding fuel to a fire. It never works, and it typically makes things worse.
The three reactions There are times when we all need to have a discussion that is bound to invoke emotional reactions, and how you handle the reactions of others will help your conversation go more smoothly. Emotional conversations typically invoke one of three reactions. The most common is zoning out (confusion or overwhelm). We don’t know what to say, so we just … go blank. Typically, we wake up in the middle of the night realizing, “Oh, I should have said …” but in the moment, we completely lose our language skills.
careersuccess magazine issue 2020
