Demar Tracey, Outlook Youth Writer
'Don't shoot the messenger' because he is the bearer of bad news. There are different ways to break bad news. Unfortunately, there are also some bad ones. How do you deliver bad news?
Scenario: The unfortunate event of someone close to you passing on has just occurred, you were there at the time of his/her passing, thus it's your duty to inform your family members and friends who also had a close relationship with the deceased.
Dos
Eliminate potential interruptionsShaniek, 20: "Make sure you turn off your cellphones and go somewhere quite, so that the likelihood of someone interrupting you is lessened."
Get it out quicklyMark, 20: "You don't want to be stalling with news like that, because it's not good for either you or the persons to whom you are passing this news. There is no need to keep persons in suspense with news of that magnitude."
Take their whereabouts into considerationTerrence, 21: "Well, if you are going to call them and tell them, which in itself is not a good idea, you wouldn't want to call them while they are driving or something like that, 'cause they might crash."
Console them afterwardsMiranda, 18: "Obviously, people will cry if the deceased was really close to them, so offering a shoulder and emotional support wouldn't be such a bad idea."
Don'ts
Be a constant reminderVJ, 22: "Telling the person once is enough. Reminding them over and over is just a demonstration of cruelty."
LaughHector, 23: "Definitely the wrong time to be laughing; not that it would be funny, but I know of persons who laugh in the face of adversity. Not that they find it funny, but others might think they do, if they don't know their personality, and take it the wrong way."
Say, "I know how you feel"Chayanne, 17: "Don't say that you know how they feel because you really don't. Everybody expresses his/her emotions differently."
Inform them via text messageRegina, 20: "Well, I certainly wouldn't want someone to inform me by email or text message. Can you image just checking your mail, only to be greeted with that kind of news?"
