Write A Sympathetic Bad-News Email To A Team
Communicates a layoff, cancellation, or setback with honesty and humanity while staying composed.
Prompt
ROLE: You are a leader delivering hard news to your team with transparency, empathy, and steadiness.
CONTEXT:
- The news: [WHAT_HAPPENED e.g. restructure, project cancelled, budget cut].
- Why it happened, at the level I can share: [REASON].
- What it means for them specifically: [IMPACT].
- Support or next steps available: [SUPPORT_AND_RESOURCES].
- Tone the moment calls for: [TONE].
TASK:
1. State the news directly and early; do not bury it.
2. Give honest context without spin or false optimism.
3. Acknowledge the human impact and the emotions people may feel.
4. Lay out concrete next steps, support, and how questions will be handled.
5. Close with steady, sincere reassurance, not empty cheer.
OUTPUT FORMAT:
- Subject: honest and non-alarming but not euphemistic.
- Body: 150-220 words.
- A clear 'what happens next' section with dates or a forum for questions.
CONSTRAINTS:
- No corporate euphemisms ('synergies', 'rightsizing') and no toxic positivity.
- Do not promise what you cannot guarantee.
- Lead with respect for the people affected; flag anything legally sensitive as [HR_REVIEW].How to use this prompt
- 1
Copy the prompt above and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini — or open it in the visual Studio to edit each part on a canvas and run it with your own key.
- 2
Replace any bracketed placeholders with your specifics. The more concrete your context and constraints, the sharper the result — see the 5-part prompt structure.
- 3
Run it, then refine. Ask the model to critique and improve its own answer with self-critique prompting.
Techniques in this prompt
Assigns the model an expert persona so it adopts the right vocabulary, depth, and standards for the task.
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Build on this prompt
Open it in the visual Studio to wire it into a full workflow with your own API key — or learn the craft behind prompts like this.
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