Prompts · Writing & memos

Tell someone bad news

Says it straight in the first line, then answers the question they'll ask back.

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I have to give someone bad news.

What's happened: The launch is slipping from October to February. The integration work was underestimated and we found out late. Two of the three people who could fix it are on another project until January.
Who I'm telling: the client, who has a campaign booked around the October date
What happens now: I can give them a working beta in November and I'll cover the reshoot cost
How I'm telling them: email

Write it. In this order:

1. The bad news, in the first sentence. No warm-up, no compliment sandwich, no "I wanted to reach out".
2. What it means for them specifically. Their dates, their money, their work.
3. What I'm doing about it.
4. What I need from them, if anything.

Own it without grovelling. Don't hide behind "unfortunately" and the passive voice: if we got it wrong, say we got it wrong, once, and move on.

Then, separately from the message, tell me the first question they'll ask when they read this, and the honest answer I should be ready with.

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What you get: A message that leads with the news, plus the question they'll fire back and your answer to it.

The question they'll ask back

The message is the easy half. What sinks people is the reply, which is almost always one predictable question you haven't thought about yet: how much will this cost me, whose fault was it, what happens if it slips again. Getting that question named in advance is what this prompt is for.

The other rule earns its place too. Bad news that opens with two friendly paragraphs reads as evasive by the time the reader hits the real sentence.

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