Should you give the good news first, or the bad news?

“I’ve got some good news and some bad news for you.”

You’ve definitely said that line to someone, right?

Whether you’re a parent, a teacher, or a doctor, you’ve had to deliver information to someone — some of it good, some of it bad.

But the question is, which information should you give first?

For most people, their instinct is to give the good news first in order to cushion the bad news. But this instinct is totally wrong.

In the book “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing,” bestselling author Dan Pink provides several studies that were conducted over several decades that found that roughly 4 out of 5 people prefer to begin with a bad outcome and ultimately end with a good outcome.

It doesn’t matter who we are. Whether we’re a patient getting test results or an employee receiving an evaluation, we prefer bad news first, good news last.

Why? Because we favor sequences of events that elevate rather than fall down.

So the next time you have to give someone bad news and good news, always give the bad news first, good news last. As people, we always prefer ending on a happy note rather than a sad one.