Sugarcoating bad news is... a truly bad idea

 Bad news should never be sugarcoated because it makes it harder to swallow, scientists have discovered.

Although it may seem like the kinder approach to break a devastating revelation by gilding the truth, in fact most people prefer candour. Researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah gave 145 participants a range of bad news scenarios with two different deliveries and asked which they preferred. Overwhelmingly they chose directness.

“If your house is on fire, you just want to know that and get out,” said Prof Alan Manning, linguistics professor. “Or if you have cancer, you’d just like to know that. You don’t want the doctor to talk around it.”

However, a lack of directness can be valuable. For example, when trying to make a persuasive case for someone to change a firmly held opinion, a strategic build-up can play a key role.