When we have both good and bad news, or at least bad news and the “silver lining”, there is often a dilemma over which one do we say first.
Do we set up the scene with the better news to cushion the blow that comes next?
Or do we hammer away with the bad, then make it better with the good?
Research says. when we have to be the messenger of mixed news, we like the first scenario more.
However, when we are the ones getting the mix of news, we prefer to hear the bad one first.
When you are worried about the right way to say your price range out loud, the decision can have a similar shape.
Most people find it easier to start low: “the price can go between two thousand [deep breath] and ten thousand at most”.
But clients, being (probably) human too, react better to hear the bad part first “the price can be as high as ten thousand, but also as low as two”.
Even when writing proposals, adopting the bad-news-first style will yield better results, as the clients’s initial “shock” is softened by the other extreme.
Sorry for the shocking title everybody, but by the end, you figured out it was nothing to worry about, really.
