Sending Good News or Bad News

1. Using Positive Language

In the last lesson, you learned about putting the recipient at the center of a message. Closely related to this idea is using positive language. This doesn’t mean soaking each letter in flattery, but being thoughtful about the way things are worded and emphasizing the options or opportunities that are available.

For example, say you need to advise staff on parking restrictions while a lot is being resurfaced. “Parking Lot C is off limits during the resurfacing!” would communicate the message, but it does not put the recipient at the center, and is communicated as a negative. By contrast, you could say “Please use Parking Lots A and B, while Parking Lot C is being resurfaced.” The information is the same, but this directly addresses the audience and is phrased as a positive (what they can do) rather than a negative (what they cannot do).

As another example, say you are in Human Resources and have a problem with an employee’s automatic deposit payments. You might send this email:

EXAMPLE

Your banking info is incorrect. Payment is not possible until this is corrected.

Notice how this message emphasizes what can’t happen and fails to put the recipient at the center of the message. In fact, it’s not clear if the recipient can do anything about it. Consider this alternative.

EXAMPLE

Please go to the employee portal and update your banking info. As soon as you do that we can remit payment.

This message once again more directly tells the recipient what they can do and emphasizes that over the problem. The information is exactly the same, but this message takes a more user-centered and positive approach.

try it

You work as an admissions director in a competitive preparatory school. Compose a message that will be sent to parents of students who met all of the criteria for enrollment, but are placed on a waiting list because the school does not currently have an open spot. Write the message using the you-view and positive language. As an example, you can address the letter to the parents of Courtney Gibbs, who is number 3 on the waiting list for ninth grade.

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2. Sending Good (or Neutral) News

In the previous challenge, you learned about structuring messages to help communicate effectively and efficiently. However, this can vary based on these circumstances. For example, maintaining strict objectivity and formality would seem cold and uncaring if you were sharing good news. If your colleague gives birth, you wouldn’t want to send a curt email telling staff, “Lisa will be out of the office for the next four weeks on parental leave.” You would probably congratulate Lisa, give staff a few details about her new child, and maybe throw in a few happy-face emojis if your work culture allows it. In short, and as discussed before, context is crucial.

Presuming your news is good or neutral, you can structure your message directly. Note that in this case “neutral news,” is not simply informative—it is big news, but perhaps you are unsure how people will respond.

• Main Idea: Whether good news or bad news, the message states its point clearly. The receiver should clearly understand the news. You may wish to hint at the expected emotional response as well, with emotional cue words like “congratulations” or “optimistically.”
• Reasons: The reasons section supports or explains the main idea. This is the needed detail to aid the receiver’s understanding or action.
• Call to Action: This is anything the recipient needs to do upon receiving the email.
• Goodwill: This is where the sender provides a brief, sincere remark designed to continue the working relationship.

For example, if you are sending a message to job applicants that they are being invited for a second interview, this is definitely good news and will also require more information. It’s important to lead with the good news and the immediate action needed by the recipient. There is probably additional information the recipient needs to receive, but you want to be sure this does not bury the main idea or the call to action.

This gives the main idea right upfront (A) with reasoning (B), a call to action (C), and a final message of goodwill (D). There is further information (not shown here), but cues in the first paragraph of where to find it.

Similarly, say you are sending a message about your own departure from an organization. This is good news for you, assuming you’re moving up in the world, but for people you have a relationship with it is mostly neutral. At the same time, it’s too important to just treat matter-of-factly.

hint

When sending neutral news, consider the importance of giving reasons behind decisions; while sometimes justification is necessary explaining a big decision, many decisions are not, and you should prioritize conciseness and relevance over explanations.

try it

You are responding to an email about a missing shipment the client had ordered. You have the following notes for your response. How would you label each of these sections, and how would you sequence them?

• The person has been a customer for a long time.
• You have not been able to locate the missing shipment.
• A new shipment is being sent with expedited shipping at no cost to the customer.
• You would like confirmation immediately upon receipt of the shipment.

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3. Sending Bad News

In any job with a lot of communication, you will have to pass on some bad news. As with good news, sending bad news may require you to waver from the usual principles of communication. For example, you normally use the subject line to clearly reflect the contents of your message. However, there are cases where this would be blunt and tactless. You probably won’t want to tell people “Joe was let go” in the subject line; indeed, it would be preferable to use a vague (but tactful) subject line to prepare them for the news, like: “Staff departure,” or “Sad news.” Moreover, while you usually want to begin emails with the most crucial information, sending bad news might require sufficient build up to prepare the recipient for an emotional blow.

A message with bad news usually has a more indirect structure that allows the writer to give that unambiguous message, while also being considerate of the recipient’s feelings.

1. Buffer
2. Reasons
3. Main Idea
4. Goodwill & Action (if any)

Note that this includes a buffer, which is language that prepares the recipient for the bad news and hopefully softens the blow. In most messages, you will want to communicate the news immediately, but, in the case of bad news, it can be more tactful to break the news slowly. While reasons usually follow the news, in this case the reasons further prepare the recipient for bad news.

Buffers must be more than an unrelated hello or small talk such as “How about those Broncos?” They must lead into the topic while avoiding negative overtones. At the same time, a buffer shouldn’t promote an untruth or raise the recipient’s hopes only to dash them. For example, in writing to a job applicant, the subject line, “You are our best candidate” only to follow in the body with “but unfortunately, we needed to hire from within the company, so you didn’t get the job” is needlessly cruel. On the other hand, “You are one of many impressive candidates,” is both honest and appropriately complimentary while serving as a buffer.

An earlier example showed a message inviting a job applicant back for a second interview. Here is a message for those who did not make the cut. Note that the structure is quite different.

This message has a buffer (A) before the main idea. The reasoning behind the decision (B) precedes the news, which further prepares the recipient. Unlike most messages, the main idea (C) comes relatively late in the message, since consideration for the recipient’s feelings are prioritized over the news itself. Finally, while there isn’t a call to action, the final sentence suggests the person apply again for future positions and also has a note of building goodwill.

try it

You are a hotel manager in charge of meeting rooms. A local organization has held a conference at your hotel every year during the first weekend of May. However, they have not formally reserved the rooms for the following year and another group has now claimed the rooms. You have to let the organization know that the rooms will no longer be available for the usual weekend, but the weekend before and the weekend after are still available. How would you label each of these sections, and how would you organize them?

• Rooms are not available.
• We’ve appreciated your loyalty in the past.
• Booking policy is to let first come, first serve.
• Rooms are available weekend before and after (for now).

Two other considerations for sending bad news are to be both tactful and clear. The message should contain the appropriate amount of emotional consideration without being overly negative or reflecting poorly on your organization. “Your vacation request is declined,” is a little bit harsh, while “I'm so sorry; I really hate to have to decline your vacation request and I feel awful about it,” is a bit over the top. “Unfortunately, we can't accommodate this vacation request,” is a more appropriate level of acknowledgement of the bad news. However, the message should still be clear and unambiguous. For example, if you make it sound like you're still trying to arrange the vacation request, when you already know it isn't possible, you will confuse and mislead your colleague. Receiving bad news is hard enough without having to decipher the true answer from cagey and indirect messaging.

hint

While you can usually use good judgment and empathy to know how a recipient will feel upon receiving a piece of news, avoid predicting or projecting the feeling itself in the email, such as saying, “We know you’ll be disappointed.” Although it may feel benign (even sympathetic), it can be considered condescending or presumptive. Let the tone of your email show that you understand their feelings.

EXAMPLE

You’re asked for a professional reference from a former colleague. In your experience, the person was often late to work and off task when at work.

If you respond evasively—“I’m not sure I could give you a reference”—your response will suggest that you are open to the idea and need convincing. Instead of softening the rejection, you are introducing ambiguity. Similarly, if you try to evade responsibility for the bad news—“I don’t think the organization allows us to give references”—the person might see it as an opportunity to check with HR and get back to you. Being clear and unambiguous is necessary. “I will not give you a reference, because if I did it would not be a great one.” At the same time, even if you had a number of grievances with the former colleague, there’s no need to give a detailed critique of past work unless they ask for more feedback.

term to know

Buffer

Language in a message that prepares the recipient for bad news.

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4. Messages of Apology

Messages of apology are often a particular kind of bad news where you also have to accept (personal or organizational) responsibility for the problem. In these cases, the bad news may already be known to the recipient, but you have to follow up with an apology to begin mending your relationship.

In this case, your message will have a form closer to the “good news” model, because beginning with a buffer and explanations will feel evasive.

1. Main idea (apology and acceptance of responsibility)
2. Reasons
3. Actions you will take to remedy the situation
4. Call for action (if any)
5. Goodwill

For example, say you accidentally miss a meeting with a client. Following the usual “bad news” model, your email might look like this:

EXAMPLE

John, I know we had a meeting scheduled earlier today and that you probably showed up for it. I hope the drive was at least uneventful and you found a good parking place. As luck would have it, I switched calendar systems last month and tried to import all my appointments but I guess it didn’t work because I didn’t have our appointment on the calendar and I only know you arrived because Brenda told me, I’d stepped out for coffee. Anyway, I’m really sorry.

If you’re John, this might annoy you. In fact, the sender is wasting even more of his time with lame excuses. Instead, try beginning your message with an unambiguous apology, taking responsibility for the mix-up. Keep any explanations brief and avoid the appearance of passing on the blame.

EXAMPLE

Dear John,

I’m so sorry I missed our meeting; it is completely my fault and I feel terrible. There was a mix-up as I switched to a new calendar system, but I should have been more careful. In any case, I hope you still want to talk and can reschedule? Let me know what dates or times work for you and I’ll adjust my own schedule as needed. In fact, if you’re available for lunch I’d love to treat you. Apologies again, and I look forward to hearing from you.

If the apology also has urgent news, you will again need to follow the “good news” model so it does not feel evasive.

EXAMPLE

Dear customers,

This email is to let you know that we had a data breach and your email and password were compromised. No other information was compromised, as we caught this early before the hackers were able to further exploit the data. We are extremely sorry for our negligence, and promise we will consult with security experts to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We have changed all passwords and will send you a one-time code to reset your password. You will need to change your password on any other sites you use with the same username, as well, and we are very sorry for the inconvenience.

big idea

The most important part of an apology is its sincerity. An apology that is insincere, evades accountability, or passes blame can make matters worse!

try it

Stanley is made aware that he interrupted and talked over a colleague making a presentation during a staff meeting. He realizes he did and that he was wrong and wants to apologize to her. How would you label and organize the following points he wants to make in the message?

• He didn’t mean to interrupt, he was excited about the discussion.
• He will try to be better.
• He is aware with reflection and feedback that he behaved inappropriately.
• He is really sorry.
• He is aware of the social context of being a woman interrupted by men.