An unplanned pregnancy. A friend passing away. Proof of a cheating spouse. The death of a beloved pet… There’s no easy way to break the bad news to someone close to you.
Though not easily, there are ways to deliver bad news gracefully, avoiding having a huge, drama filled, real-housewives type of fight breakout. I mean, just think about how many times doctors have had to deliver bad news, and somehow they manage to keep their composure!
If you find yourself in need of moral support because you have some bad news to deliver to someone close to you, look no further. Your support is here!
# Deliver in a public settingJust like doctors are always telling their patients and the families of their patients bad news, there is a common theme to all doctors everywhere who deliver bad news. They are always in a public place: the hospital!
I’m not saying you need to tell someone bad news in a hospital, but what I am suggesting is that you deliver the negative information in a public setting. Maybe take them out to dinner and then after carrying on a conversation for a while, ease into it. They’re less likely to make a scene for fear of drawing too much untoward attention to themselves.
# Deliver with a nice gesture
What goes up must come down. One way you can deliver bad news is with a nice gesture. Think about how many men aren’t romantic 363 days a year, but use holidays like Valentine’s Day and Christmas to make up for it. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love chocolate, amazing jewelry, fancy dinners, incredible gifts, and having crazy sex.
With that said, one way to break bad news is by buttering them up first with something sweet, or romantic, and then after they have been spoiled, letting them hear the bad news. No matter how much they want to be mad at you, they more than likely won’t be as mad as they could be, because you just spoiled them! It would be very inconsiderate, rude, and selfish of them if they full-on rage at you, especially after you did something nice.
# Deliver a negative using a negativeAnother way you can let someone hear something their good ears probably don’t want to is by using an already negative situation. If you’re already currently processing a bad situation, then use the current one to segue into the one you need to tell them.
For instance, you can start talking about how your car got wrecked the other night. After this conversation, you can skip on to casually mentioning that you have some bad news about that scumbag your friend is dating. Chances are, your friend will keep the story of your wrecked car in mind, and he or she will have a point of comparison for how much worse things can be.
# Deliver by downplaying
If you’ve ever had a guy tell you something you didn’t want to hear, and he delivered the news so nonchalantly, props to him! I know you may not understand, but there is somewhat of an art to this.
By having a casual conversation, as easy as when you two talk about what you want to eat for dinner or what the weather is, it makes the environment much more relaxed than it would be if he started the conversation with “we need to talk.” No four words in the English language are scarier. So unless you want the person you have to tell the bad news to turning into a complete crazy person, don’t use that phrase.
# Deliver indirectlyThis one is for anyone who really just cannot stand confrontation and doesn’t want to deal with it. Think about how lame it is when a guy breaks up with you over text. Yeah, it’s lame, but it’s straightforward. If you have some bad news to tell someone, and don’t want to deal with it in person, then write it down. Send them a text, or email, or if you want to get really old-school, write them a letter in the mail.
If you must use this approach, just make sure you proofread what you’ve written. And make sure that, if for some reason they were to ever post your letter on social media or if it were to get lost somewhere, that you wouldn’t want to crawl under a rock for the rest of your life out of shame and embarrassment. And just remember that if you write it down, they will always have it in print. Verbal communication is much safer in that regard!