CHAPTER 34
Delivering Unwelcome Information Without Damaging Relationships
Your throat feels tight and your palms are sweating. You need to take a few breaths in a paper bag. Are you waiting to begin a huge presentation to snag your competition’s biggest client? Are you tuning up to sing the national anthem at the World Series? Actually, you are preparing for a meeting with an employee to whom you must deliver unwelcome information about performance, a raise, or a promotion that isn’t going to happen, or worse, about an impending layoff.
More than 2,500 years ago, Socrates noted that “none love the messenger who brings bad news.” Perhaps no situation taxes our ability to be courteous and clear at the same time as when we are delivering information ...
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