8.1 Bad News Situations

Delivering bad news is never easy, but professionals need to deliver bad news in different situations, both internal and external to the organization. Bad news delivery is defined as a “dynamic and socially constructed situation in which the information being shared between at least two parties (a sender and a recipient) is perceived to have negative valence by at least one party” (Kitz et al., 2023). This means both the sender and the receiver dynamically influence each other and adapt to each other’s reactions as the interaction unfolds (Kitz et al., 2023).

Learning how to effectively communicate bad news is vital because a poor message and delivery can impact the image of an organization, morale of the recipients, and negatively impact the relationship between an organization and its stakeholders (Kelly, 2022 as cited in Kitz et al., 2023, p.1). Consider the following circumstances in which you may have to give bad news to both your internal and external audience members.

Situations when bad news must be delivered

• Poor review of job performance
• Elimination of position
• Termination of employment
• Applicant did not secure the advertised position
• Lack of funding for a program
• Delays in customer order
• Unable to complete a project
• Change of a contact person
• Technical concerns that may interrupt services
• Declining contractors due to lack of necessary credentials
• Denying a request related to a service or a product

When giving bad news, we want our intention behind the message to be clear. However, we also want to write in a way that is respectful to the reader and does not harm the relationship with them.

Here are some considerations for writing negative messages:

1. 1. Clearly state appropriate amount of information to avoid further communication if not necessary.
   2. Establish future correspondence related to possible upcoming projects by helping the reader move forward at the end of the letter.
   3. Help the receiver understand and accept the reasons behind the bad news, before declining directly if the news will be shocking, displeasing, or difficult for the reader.
   4. Use appropriate language that communicates clearly without over focusing on the negative parts of the message.
   5. Utilize “you” and “we” appropriately to avoid making the message sound overly authoritative.
   6. Try not to overuse apology or insincere remarks that may sound as you are pitying the reader related to the decision.

This section is adapted from “Bad News” in Communication for Professionals by Susan Oaks, licensed under CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International, unless otherwise noted.