How do you deliver bad news to others?

There are daily many bad news at homes, in schools, in hospitals, in workplaces, in press including offline and online social medium. We call them bad news because we believe they are bad with unwanted consequences. The heart of this issue is that we jump to the conclusions too quickly sometimes; without knowing the overall consequences and understanding the purpose behind them. Some of them could be blessing in disguise when we look at them from the hindsight. There are of course some realistic heart breaking events too.

The article titled How to deliver the news? made me think what the best way to deliver bad news. It is a complex situation when dramatic emotional events are the matter of the news. We are sensitive creatures. Our mind play a lot of trick on our body and psyche. Using neutral language is recommended rather than starting the conversation with "I'm sorry" or "unfortunately I have some bad news" etc.

We all of course have different views and experience on dealing with bad news. This is also very contextual and may vary according to the situation. Maybe we can learn from each other by identifying some practical patterns and handy hints. How do you usually deliver bad news to the related parties who are expected to suffer from or be disadvantaged by the intended severe bad news?

Regards,
Mehmet

Dr. Mehmet YILDIZ || IBM || IT Philosophy || Future|| Leadership || My blog || Twitter || Linkedin || Yasni ||Google || Naymz|| Superfan