Whether you’re part of a team of two or twenty people, at some point you’ll have to deliver bad news. Maybe you’re a manager who has to talk to your employees about upcoming layoffs or you’re a consultant who has to tell a client the project is behind schedule. These types of conversations are uncomfortable and downright awkward — especially if you don’t agree with the decision. The harsh reality is it’s an unfortunate cost of doing business. Let’s say you’re a VP of a company with a team of 15 people. You have to deliver bad news to a client about a project delay. While you believe your team had enough time to meet the deadline, someone made a mistake and failed to process the order. You want to try using a new supplier to expedite the process, but your CEO prefers to use the same supplier so you don’t risk quality. Before you communicate the news to the client, here are five steps to consider: 1. Avoid  Miscommunication Though the decision to extend the deadline might be what’s...