Nobody likes to give bad news. But by avoiding common missteps, it is possible to deliver difficult messages with tact and consideration for the recipient, ultimately maintaining company morale.

Bad news can be tough on both the recipient and the messenger, and in today’s uncertain economic climate, the exchange of negative news is an all-too-common occurrence. But the classic strategy of “good news first, bad news second” usually isn’t enough to assuage worker anxieties, particularly when explaining that a project has failed, the company is facing financial difficulties or that some employees are being let go.

“Mustering the fortitude to get those words out in the first place is hard enough; communicating the message in a meaningful, compassionate and respectful way can feel nearly impossible,” Forbes.com explains.

Expressing tough financial news can be challenging at any level of an organization, but there are certain strategies that can help soften the blow and provide some much-needed perspective on a company downturn. According to Fortune Magazine, today it is unwise to use humor to lighten the mood before delivering bad news or to rely too heavily on metaphors that may obscure the point.

“Forget about trying to lighten things up. It’s not appropriate,” Anett Grant, president of coaching firm Executive Speaking Inc. told Fortune. “Everybody is very serious these days. They just want you to get to the point.”

It’s also important to stay calm, speaking at a steady pace and making periodic eye contact with the recipients of the news. Make sure not to raise your tone at the end of your sentences, as this may express insecurity and transmit a sense of nervousness to listeners.

Keeping the message short and direct is another key element. “Being concise means stating the facts — no big preambles, no beating around the bush, no rambling, no drifting off on tangents to talk about things that may be somewhat relevant but not critical,” Grant added.

To that end, it’s vital to avoid using buzzwords or jargon, as employees will be most concerned about how the bad news directly affects day-to-day operations and whether cost-cutting measures will impede their ability to do their jobs. Relying on corporate jargon is unlikely to satisfy these inquiries.

Letting an employee go is one of the most difficult tasks in any profession, making it important for managers to approach this responsibility with care and foresight. According to a survey last year from layoff research firm Telonu.com, 88 percent of fired employees rated their experience of how the firing was handled as “poor” or “very poor,” attributing the lowest scores to layoffs that were very sudden or felt impersonal.

Of course, no one feels good about being fired, but even basic displays of empathy and maintaining a dignified approach to the matter can make a significant difference from the employee’s perspective. Fair play and integrity are the key elements in a successful layoff and set the stage for managing staff after layoffs have occurred.

“Sometimes managers are afraid to say they’re sorry because it infers some kind of guilt or responsibility for the individual getting laid off,” Paul Falcone, author of 101 Tough Conversations to Have With Employees, told the Christian Science Monitor. “But hearing ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘Thank you’ is a universal human need that allows us healthy closure on unexpected changes in our lives, including job loss. Don’t let someone walk out the door grumbling, ‘After all these years of dedication, they didn’t even say thank you or that they were sorry for letting me go.’”

Speaking kindly, taking your time, listening to the employee’s viewpoints and evaluating future options, such as severance packages, employment search assistance or recommendations are simple approaches that can greatly ease the experience of being laid off. It goes without saying that the news should be delivered in-person and one-on-one.

Conveying negative news to a group of people requires a different set of public speaking skills. Harvard Business Review’s The Conversation blog recommends taking the following steps when presenting bad news to a group:

• Do it as soon as possible. Bad news travels quickly, so to avoid any wild speculation, address the issue as soon as you can. This will allow you to control its impact and present a forceful presence in the face of a crisis. Schedule a meeting early in the day to deliver the news in order to give employees time to digest the information.
• Speak candidly. Tell your audience as much as you can, and if there is information you don’t have yet, admit it. Try to look the audience members in the eye, don’t read from a script, and focus on being factual instead of speaking about how the news makes you feel.
• Give them a bigger picture. Provide as much context for the news as possible and address its long-term effects. Try to be optimistic without misrepresenting the facts and state clearly how management is trying to handle the problem.
• Prepare for questions. Even a good presentation can be undermined by an awkward Q&A session, so be ready to answer any likely questions with concise and direct responses. When answering, look first at the questioner then at the rest of the audience to make it clear your reply addresses everyone.

“Obviously, you cannot avoid all mistakes or mishaps at work,” Yahoo! HotJobs explains. “However, by delivering unpleasant news immediately and in person, you’ll spend less time on the firing line and more on the production line.”

Earlier

5 Ideas for Maintaining Morale after Layoffs

5 Strategies for Managing Employees After Layoffs

The Job Hunt, Pt. I: Preparation

The Job Hunt, Pt. II: Action

5 Things to Know for Public Speaking

Resources

How to Deliver Really Bad News
by Miriam Marcus and Melanie Lindner
Forbes.com, Sept. 25, 2009

How to Deliver Bad Financial News
by Anne Fisher
Fortune Magazine, Sept. 29, 2008

88 Percent of Laid Off Employees Rate Their Layoff Experience as Poor
Telonu.com, March 30, 2009

Good Ways to Deliver Bad News
by Marilyn Gardner
Christian Science Monitor, May 29, 2009

How to Deliver Bad News to a Group
by Kevin Daley
The Conversation (Harvard Business Review), Oct. 16, 2009

How to Deliver Unpleasant News at Work
by Marc Hertz
Yahoo! HotJobs