I have bad news to put in writing. Help me say it straight.

A short, kind message that says the hard thing in the first two sentences.


When to use
When you have to cancel, decline or disappoint someone, and you keep padding the draft.
Time
5 min
In the pack
The hard conversation

The prompt

I have to write to . I need to tell them that . The honest reason: . What I can offer, or what happens next: . Write a message of under 120 words. Put the news in the first two sentences, in plain words, with no warm-up and no phrase like ‘unfortunately, due to circumstances’. Then one sentence of reason, one apology at most, and what happens next. Use only what I’ve given you, and leave a marked gap where something is missing. It should be kind without being vague: nobody should finish it unsure of what I’ve told them. Underneath, point to the sentence I’ll be most tempted to soften, and tell me what softening it would cost.

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