"Good Ways to Deliver Bad News", FAST Company, April 1999

FAST Company April 1999

"Good Ways to Deliver Bad News"

Curtis Sitterfeld writes an article on Dr. Robert Buchman who is a cancer specialist who teaches doctors as well as corporate executives how to break bad news. As an intern he had witnessed many doctors get embarrassed and do a poor job communicating when they had to give bad news to patients. He felt there had to be a protocol that would keep people from having to invent this type of conservation time and again.

What he did was structure a method and implement it by utilizing positive people skills. First he recommended that you should begin a difficult conversation by listening and by summarizing. Review the ground you've covered, identify a plan, and agree on a contract for the next contract.

This was an area I though the University of Minnesota Extension Service personnel are not very good at. We find it very difficult to be directly critical with our colleague and staff people during times of conflict, evaluations or other stressful times. Also not knowing how to deal with situations that do not bear good news are difficult. Escalation of tension or conflict by becoming more emotional or personal results in bad experiences. These bad experiences last much longer than necessary and greatly reduce the possibility of salvaging any positive outcomes.

Buchanan reemphasizes how important it is to start by listening, instead of talking. Don't' just "get right down to business". Starting with a few open-ended questions like "How are you feeling?" and "How's it going?" Be quiet and don't interrupt. Let people say what they want to say. The trust that you build by this method is very good. Eye contact and having yourself relaxed also helps the situation. Then Buchanan asks them their perception of their performance. This method opens the door for you to then try to define reality with them.

This approach sounded very logical to me. When you have to deal with a bad situation involving staff or personnel. The person receiving the bad news certainly feels much better when they can express themselves about their own situation. Many times they have come to the same conclusions as the bearer of the bad news. Bottom line supervisors need to understand what the employee or colleague perceives and comprehends about the situation. Does their perception differ from reality? The other point Buchanan made is to legitimize emotions knowing they must be acknowledged. However, don't get yourself emotional.

This I believe would be the most difficult part of delivering bad news. My own experience in keeping emotions out of decision-making has been in the feedlot permitting process. One is forced to listen and stay relaxed, but at the same time Extension's obligation is to provide research-based information that may or may not be popular. By keeping the emotions out of decision-making, most generally the right decision is made long-term. It is my opinion that it is easier to accomplish this during a feedlot issue than a staffing or personnel issue, because the latter is more 1 to 1 and personal. Again this is where more emphasis could be made in Extension and if this is done in a structured manner, more positive outcomes could develop for present or future situations.

--James B. Nesseth (jnesseth@extension.umn.edu), October 18, 1999

-- Anonymous, October 18, 1999