Delivering Bad News Professionally

Chances are one of your least pleasant tasks at work is breaking bad news to customers or co-workers. I’m referring to times when you need to tell people about delays, unexpected costs, or that their request simply isn’t doable.

To avoid confrontation, we may be tempted to send a message in writing; be it letter, text, or email. That’s the?worst?way to break bad news. Text is cold, and often leads to more correspondence and escalation of the problem.

Instead, take the professional approach and either go talk to person or at least pick up the phone. After if needed for the record, you can follow-up with a short written message. Even a 30-second voice mail message briefly explaining the situation will have more impact than a 1000 word email. It takes less time, conveys more meaning, and is more likely to maintain your positive relationship.