How do you deliver bad news under pressure?
My daughter recently showed me.
I had just come home from walking the dog when she met me at the door. She looked me in the eye and said, calmly and clearly:
“Mom, you and Pax need to go upstairs. There is a raccoon in the basement, but we are handling it. There is nothing you need to do but take the dog upstairs.”
Did you catch that? There was a RACCOON in our HOUSE.
And my daughter—a teenager who knows I’m unfortunately the shriek-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse type—delivered the news with clarity, calm, and purpose.
She did three things really well:
- She was direct — no sugarcoating, no ambiguity.
- She was calm — which helped me stay calm.
- She repeated herself — so the message got through even under stress.
These are critical skills for any leader navigating a crisis or delivering difficult news. When emotions run high, our brains struggle to take in information. The more stressful the situation, the more our communication needs to slow down, simplify, and clarify.
(And yes, the raccoon was safely coaxed out with cat food.)
