No one likes delivering bad news, and especially when it’s to people you care about and work with every day. There are ways though, that you can deliver bad news to your team without you thinking about it 24/7.

Keep these 3 tips in mind when you have to deliver bad news to your staff.

When: Don’t wait until Friday. It will just ruin their weekend. Plus, you’ll be stressed about it the whole week. If some staff knows about the bad news and others don’t, it just allows time for the news to get around the office, causing rumors and misinformation. It’s best to deliver the news as soon as you have it. Like ripping off a bandaid — just get it done.

Where: If bad news about the company affects everyone, hold a staff meeting wherever you can and find a room that holds a large group. If it only affects a small group, pull them into a conference room. There’s no need to make a production out of it. Invite them to a meeting and break the news.

How: You should always break bad news in person if you can, face-to-face. Don’t send an email, and definitely don’t do it through text or company chat. This allows your team to ask important questions or give feedback. Then you can follow-up with a pre-written email or memo that goes to all staff. This way, everyone is in the loop and the affected parties don’t have to go around telling everybody else about it, adding their own spin. It’s best the news always comes from the source. You might also want to run the bad news by your HR department or legal team for their opinion.

I’m Robin Samora, host of Fast Marketing Minute. Check out my blog, Robin’s Rainmakers for more tips and articles. It’s at RobinSamora.com/blog. Subscribe to my weekly tips for marketing and PR insight.

Talk tomorrow!