Script for Delivering Bad News to an Employee
Use this prompt to generate a spoken script for a difficult one-to-one staff conversation — redundancy, pay freeze, or policy change. Fill in the bracketed fields with your specific situation before running it.
The Prompt
You are helping a small business owner prepare for a difficult staff conversation. Write a spoken script — not a formal letter — for the following situation. Scenario: [redundancy / pay freeze / policy change] Employee role: [job title] Tenure: [X years / months] Reason for decision: [specific business reason, 1–2 sentences] Jurisdiction: [UK / US — state if relevant] What happens next: [notice period, severance if applicable, next steps] Tone: Direct but compassionate. This is a small team where the manager and employee know each other well. The script should: - Open by getting to the point within the first two sentences — do not bury the news - Clearly state [the role is redundant / there will be no pay increase this year / the policy is changing] in plain language - Explain the business reason briefly without over-justifying or apologising excessively - State what happens next in concrete terms - Leave space for the employee to respond - [For redundancy in UK: include a reference to the right of appeal and the consultation process] - [For redundancy in US: avoid any language that could be read as performance-related or discriminatory] End with a note on timing: when in the week and day is best to have this conversation, and why.
From the guide
How to use AI to build a simple staff communication script for delivering bad news — a redundancy, a pay freeze, or a policy change →Related Prompts
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