The top tips and tactics for communicating negative news

There are a lot of great parts about being a communicator. You get to create the messaging and the ties that weave together a robust company culture and you’re at the forefront of getting exciting news out to employees and the public.

However, not every message a communicator shares is positive. Whether it’s a cutback in resources or the departure of a beloved colleague, communicators are sometimes tasked with sharing not-so-great news, even when it’s not something as severe as a layoff or downsizing. Having the skill and dexterity to get the message across clearly and within the parameters of the organization’s cultural values is important, and doing so can be the difference between buying a robust culture during times of change and allowing a situation to spin too far into negativity.

The steps for sharing negative news

When you’re tasked with sharing bad news with your colleagues, you need to go in with a concrete plan. You can’t predict how people will react every step of the way, but creating contingencies will allow you to be flexible and pivot when needed. Kerry O’Grady, comms consultant and professor of communications at Holy Family University, provided an outline for comms pros saddled with getting negative news out there.

• Prepare yourself for the questions that lie ahead. No matter what the news is, communicators should work to come up with potential questions that they’ll face from the employee audience ahead of time. For instance, putting together a tabletop exercise on how to handle a negative news drop in conjunction with leadership could be a good way to practice. O’Grady told Ragan that preparing ahead of time allows for refined reactions that can preserve culture. “Play the tape forward,” she said. “What’s the tone I want to set for this? What happens after delivering this news to rebuild morale?”
• Be direct with your delivery. When you’re giving employees bad news, don’t dance around the issue. Give it to them straight, and don’t leave room for things to get misconstrued. O’Grady suggested starting with a blunt line about how the news won’t be good, and to just jump right into it. “Use language that leaves no room for interpretation,” she said. “When emotions are high, people read into word choice.”
• Provide the organization’s detailed perspective and avoid subjective rationales. Communicators should rely on a fact-based narrative to ground the bad news they’re sharing within the values and language of the company. O’Grady suggested that communicators share the step-by-step decision-making process of the company to give more depth and clarity to the news rather than simply grounding it in emotional rationales. “Step through the facts,” O’Grady said. “If there’s an economic crisis and you need to reduce costs to save the business, say that. Don’t just say, ‘It’s a tough market’. Explain what that means.”
• Acknowledge emotions and provide resources when possible. Major changes and negative news might elicit an emotional reaction from the intended audience. Communicators should offer time and space for the recipients of the news to process things and point to resources that might be able to help, including employee assistance programs (EAPs) or follow-up meetings to clarify the news when necessary. Comms pros should also take a neutral tone while recognizing potentially emotional reactions. “You never want to show your team how you feel about the news because you’re going to influence how they feel,” she said.
• Shift the focus to the future. When bad news is handed down, it’s not the time to debate the merits or lack thereof of the situation. It’s time to plan the path forward. Rather than soliciting feedback on the decision itself, acknowledge the impacts but plot out what comes next. “I’ve seen leaders get into difficult situations when they ask for feedback on bad news,” O’Grady says. “Don’t debate a decision that’s already made. People need clarity about what happens next — not an invitation to re-litigate the decision.”

An ongoing and supporting role

Just because you’re the bearer of bad news doesn’t mean you can’t draw at least some positives out of it. Kathryn Metcalfe, visiting professor at NYU, told Ragan that peppering in some good news among the not-so-good news can serve as a way to buoy some sentiment.

“For instance, if a department is shutting down and you’re tasked with breaking that news, you can also share some data on how the company is exceeding budget targets or completing successful projects in other areas,” Metcalfe said. “Be sure to thank your employees at the top for everything they’re doing and weave that sentiment into the message.”

Metcalfe also recommended that communicators think of sharing negative news as part of their overall comms strategies rather than just a one-off instance.

“Companies that do this well don’t just deliver bad news and walk away,” she said. “They continue to engage with those affected by the news. Internal messaging needs to continue after any initial announcement — you as the communicator need to stay present.”

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time, he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.