Giving bad news - training for managers and professional people

Giving bad news is difficult.  The problem is that strong emotions are inevitably aroused, not only in the receiver but also in the giver.  Many people are afraid of strong emotions and try to avoid them.  Some people handle it by making a joke of it.  Sometimes this can be very effective because laughter is a good way of releasing tension – but the approach can misfire.

A safer approach, instead of trying to avoid feelings, is to talk about them - to mention them explicitly in the conversation.  This won’t make giving bad news easy, but it will make it easier.

Talking about feelings is what you can learn and practise in the safe atmosphere of the London based Skills with People course.  It is a key part of emotional intelligence.

The hard part is having the courage to unlearn the old habit of suppressing feelings.