Challenging Communications

Knowing the right way to communicate can be challenging when you learn difficult or bad news that you have to convey to your employees.

Here a few suggestions to make the process a little easier:

First - You have to deal with your own feelings. If you feel confused or lost, come to terms with that before communicating with your employees.

Second - Conduct a group check in with your team. Try to engage each employee to share how they feel about the pending news or changes. Be sure to look each person in the eye as they speak to really gauge their feelings about the situation. Focus on their feelings before covering agenda items.

Third - Make it safe for employees to share their thoughts and feelings. Make sure they feel comfortable sharing during the meeting and then delve in to the agenda items.

Fourth - If need be, reschedule some of the agenda items. Recognize that the team may not be able to focus on everything that you wanted to cover. Limit the meeting to time sensitive agenda items and reschedule to discuss in more detail at a later time.

Fifth - Be prepared to postpone the meeting to a later date. Studies show that cognitive processes are limited in times of distress, anger or anxiety. If everyone at the meeting has negative feelings, it will not be productive.