CEO Melissa Davis discusses how to deliver bad news without making it worse – and how to use it to build trust.
Delivering bad news is one of the hardest things any organisation has to do.
The instinct is often to soften it, shorten it, or hide behind process. But when it’s done well, it can actually build trust.
Dogs Trust gave a real masterclass in crisis communications when they wrote to me at the weekend to tell me that Lottie, the dog I’d been sponsoring, had died. They apologised for having recently sent a cheery Christmas update, acknowledging that the timing might have felt jarring, and that the mailing had already gone out and it was too late to update me. They showed real emotional intelligence: naming the misstep, owning the impact, and moving on, without defensiveness.
But they also did something many organisations avoid altogether. They told the truth. They explained that Lottie was “no longer coping with her normal routines and was in constant pain”, that her behaviour made rehoming unsafe, and that after trying every option, “the kindest remaining option would be for Lottie to be sent to sleep”.
Reputation management doesn’t have to mean softening away the reality, because honesty matters. It shows respect for the reader and it builds trust through transparency and it proves that compassion and clarity can coexist.
And then, crucially, they closed the loop.
They asked whether I’d like to sponsor Toblerone: another dog who can’t be rehomed, but who is clearly happy, safe and well cared for at Dogs Trust.
Not as a sales push, just a gentle invitation to continue supporting their work, grounded in trust they’d already earned – and of course the gorgeous beaming photo of Toblerone helped too.
This is how you break bad news properly: acknowledge the truth and the mistake, explain the decision, and offer a way forward.
Bad news doesn’t damage trust. Avoidance does.
In the current perma crisis the world seems to find itself in at the moment perhaps the bravest and best comms choice is simply telling the truth – kindly, clearly, and in full.
Having a crisis or want to know how you might deliver bad news best? See our crisis comms services or get in touch.
