I did a ‘managing difficult conversations’ course back in’t day and this was the example. It was focused on a manager having the conversation but basically the lessons were:
– have some empathy – it’s a pretty nasty thing to hear
– get to the point – don’t waffle or hint
– take some responsibility – “I’ve noticed”, not ‘lots of people have mentioned’
– find out if there are any underlying reasons
– ask if there’s anything that can be done to help