Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Choosing Words
• Method 2 of 3: Choosing the context
• Method 3 of 3: Posting Bad News Correctly

Breaking bad news is no easy task. By doing this at the wrong time or in the wrong way, you can further exacerbate an already difficult situation. Therefore, it is very important to learn how to do it right. The real difficulty (in addition to the content of the news) is that in this situation it is bad not only for the one who delivers the unpleasant news, but also for the person who hears it. This article will guide you on how to properly deliver bad news so that both sides of an unpleasant situation can deal with it.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Choosing Words

1. 1 Learn to deal with your own reactions. Before transmitting a message to someone, you need to try to cope with your feelings and emotions that may arise as a result of what happened. Bad news can also affect you. While the incident may not concern you or your family member, bad news can make you feel uncomfortable. Therefore, it is very important to calm down and put your thoughts and feelings in order before reporting the incident to someone else.
   • To calm down, you can have a cup of coffee, shower, meditate, or practice deep breathing for a few minutes. You can also sit quietly in a quiet, dark place to calm down and collect your thoughts. Once you get over the shock, you won't feel overwhelmed by not knowing how to properly communicate what happened to others. However, this will certainly not be so easy to do.
2. 2 Prepare the right words. Before breaking bad news, you should think about its content. Be very careful about what happened. The person you are giving bad news to should be clear about what happened.
   • Be specific about what happened. Don't beat around the bush. It will be easier for a person if you tell him about what happened right away, rather than trying to break the news by entering from afar. Tell us about what happened. Look the person in the eye and talk about what happened.
3. 3 Practice what you are going to say in order to find the right words and phrases correctly. However, be prepared to change your script. Be flexible. Observe the person's reaction and make any necessary changes. How you break bad news will have a lot to do with it. For example, your relationship with a person or the content of a news story largely determines how you present it to someone else.
   • If there was an accident and someone died, say it bluntly but gently: "I'm sorry to have to tell you about this, but Misha was in a terrible car accident."
   • Give the person the opportunity to deal with their emotions. After he is ready, he will most likely ask, "What happened?" or "What's wrong with him?" You can answer this question directly: "I'm sorry, but he died."
   • If you lose your job, you can say, "I'm sorry, but the company I work for has gone bankrupt." Then you can continue: "And, unfortunately, I was fired."

Method 2 of 3: Choosing the context

1. 1 Consider whether you should be giving the bad news. If you just happen to find out about what happened and barely know the people directly affected by the incident, you may not want to pass on the bad news. However, if you are the sister of a woman who is admitted to the hospital, your task is to bring this unpleasant news to other relatives.
   • Don't post personal or confidential information on social media just because you own it. If the news is related to a death or other serious incident, inform family and friends before spreading the information to the general public.
2. 2 Please select calm and a secluded place. Avoid breaking bad news in a public place where the person won't be able to just sit down to deal with the first reaction to grief. Therefore, choose a place where the person can sit and realize what happened. Also, choose a place where no one else will interfere with your conversation. Follow these tips when you're about to break bad news:
   • Turn off all electronic devices such as TV, radio, player, etc.
   • Draw in the curtains or pull down the blinds for more privacy. However, do not close the curtains completely if it is daytime. The room should not be too dark.
   • Close the door so that no one bothers you during the conversation.
   • If you think it will be difficult for you to report the incident yourself, ask a family member or friend to accompany you.
3. 3 Choose a suitable time if possible. In some cases, waiting is not possible and it is best to break the news as soon as possible before rumors start to spread. However, if the situation is not critical, postpone the unpleasant news until the moment when the other person is ready to accept it and he has free time.
   • If a person has just stepped over the threshold of an apartment or house, after returning from work or school, believe me, this will not be the best time to report bad news. While there is no good time to deliver bad news, in some situations it is better to wait for a better time.
   • If you need to communicate important and urgent news, take a deep breath and say directly about what happened: “Zhenya, I need to talk to you. This conversation is urgent. "
   • Of course, in some situations, breaking news can be delivered over the phone. Still, it is better to ask the person to whom you will be transmitting the news if you can meet with him personally to tell about what happened. If this is not possible or if you urgently need to tell about what happened, ask the person to sit down, as you are going to tell him something unpleasant. If you are worried that the person will find it difficult to deal with their emotions without help, ask him if there is someone with him who can support him.
4. 4 Think about how the person might react to bad news. Also find out if he has already heard of what happened. If so, don't repeat the bad news again. It is very important to choose the right words and the appropriate approach in order to hurt a person's feelings as little as possible.
   • Pay attention to whether the person has suspicions, for example, a bad feeling, fear, anxiety, anxiety. Also, think about how unexpected the news will be to the person (for example, death in a car accident) or something inevitable (for example, failure of cancer treatment).
   • Also think about the content of the bad news. How bad is it? Need to be told about the death of your pet or that you have lost your job? Or is the news about the death of a relative or friend? If the bad news is directly related to you (for example, you lost your job), the person will react differently than if it concerns himself (for example, his cat died).

Method 3 of 3: Posting Bad News Correctly

1. 1 Give a hint to the person that trouble has happened before you get to the heart of the matter. This will help the person prepare for the news. Although, as mentioned above, it is necessary to immediately get to the heart of the matter, and not beat around the bush, you should not tell a person about what happened without giving him time to tune in to the perception of your words.
   • You can say: “I have to tell you very sad news”, “I just got a call from the hospital: there was an accident and ...”; or “I just spoke to your doctor and ...”, “It's very difficult for me to talk about this, but ...” or “Unfortunately, I have bad news for you ...” and so on.
2. 2 Offer the person help if needed. When talking about what happened, react to your emotions. If you want to learn how to properly deliver bad news, it is important for you to pay attention to the other person's emotions.
   • Establish a connection between understanding an emotion and the reason it arose. In response to the person's reaction, say, "This is really terrible" or "I can see that you are really upset about what happened."
   • Thanks to this, the person will see that you understand his feelings, the pain that he feels, and at the same time do not try to give any assessments, assumptions or diminish the significance of a person's emotions. "
3. 3 Be prepared for the person to answer you with silence. Not everyone asks questions or says something after learning about something bad. Some may experience real shock. It may take a while for the person to realize what happened. If the person is silent, hug him and sit next to him, thereby expressing sympathy.
   • When consoling a person, remember the social and cultural rules of behavior so as not to aggravate the situation.
4. 4 Decide what to do next. When you tell someone bad news, you need to know how to proceed. If a person is busy with something, it will be easier for him to cope with the state of shock. Therefore, do your best so that the person does not sit and grieve. He can do something, solve some issues or lead something. Help the person deal with their emotions. If a loved one has died, how can you help him cope with his emotions? If your pet has died, what can you do to help the owner honor his memory? If a person has lost their job, how can you help them in this situation?
   • Provide practical help, such as offering to drive the person to the hospital, help with packing, find a good psychologist or therapist, contact the police, or any other help you need.
   • Make a clear plan of your actions, especially if you are somehow related to what happened. For example, if you are a doctor who needs to inform a patient that the chosen treatment method has not been effective, develop a further treatment plan. Tell the person that you will help him at any time, if necessary, and you will also monitor the dynamics of the disease.
   • If you have promised to do something, be sure to keep your promises.
   • Take time if the person needs your help. Also, if you see the person needing to cry, be with them.