If It’s Okay, Say It First.
If you’ve ever received a phone call that started out with something like, “So and so (the person you love) had an accident,” followed by a convoluted story that eventually ends, “But they’re all in okay, ”you know how important it is to carry on good news.
Reddit user u / lukehooligan suggests that if you know everything is okay, this is the best place to start a conversation:
Starting with a simple message to them that they were in an accident, it leaves a couple of seconds of doubt that they could have died.
If you call me to tell me that my son fell from the playground during recess, first tell me what happened to him everything is in order, and secondly, that he had fallen.
You may be scared, but recently learned that it was actually just scared and you are okay. Start with the “perfectly fine” part as you later tell your mother’s story.
Was there a fire? Sucks. But did everyone get out safely? Say it first.
Because while you may know it worked out, the person on the other end of the news is most likely imagining all possible worst-case scenarios.
Of course, sometimes the result is bad, and we have advice on how to deal with it . But if the news isn’t all bad? Start with this most important detail and move on.