Page 95 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Communication in organizations 84

HEADWAITER RONALD ROSENTHAL: If you do not revoke your decision, I’m
going to the director!
HARRY: I understand that you are livid and are willing to do anything to undo the
decision, [not: I see that you are a little bit angry]

When the other person really does not want to accept the bad news yet, it is advisable to
repeat it from time to time in a businesslike tone.
As mentioned, the recipient can also react with aggression. The aggression can be
directed at the information that is conveyed, at the deliverer himself, or at the whole
organization. If the aggression directs itself at the deliverer, then it is a case of identifying
the bad news with the deliverer. (The classic example of this was the messenger who
informed the emperor of a lost battle: the messenger was decapitated.) The aggression
that is directed at the deliverer personally is always difficult to accept. First, there is often
nothing that can be done if the decision is badly received. Second, the deliverer would
also prefer to be giving good news. Third, the deliverer is trying to present the bad news
with understanding, yet still the other person is getting angry! In such a situation it can be
sensible to realize that the other does not usually mean it personally. Aggression is after
all a common reaction to frustration and the other person must do something with their
reaction in the moment. When the deliverer fully realizes this in advance, he will be more
successful in dealing with such aggression with a measure of calm and understanding.
This is part of working professionally.

Figure 10.1 Influence of reflections of
feeling on information processing

The duration of the second phase is dependent on the gravity of the bad news and the
personal reaction of the other. Only when the first emotions have abated somewhat is the
other party ready to hear further arguments and perhaps to think of alternative solutions
to the problem in question. Voorendonk (1986) sketches the link between emotional and
rational information processing (see Figure 10.1).