When the plan fails, say it plainly. People can handle bad news. They can’t handle being managed.

Most people are tougher than the person delivering the news assumes. What actually erodes trust is the sense of being handled: the softened phrasing, the delay, the feeling that information is being released in portions. Once someone suspects they are being managed, they stop believing the good news too.

When something goes wrong, say what happened, what it means, and what you do not yet know, in that order. Skip the cushioning sentence at the front. Then give people a moment to react instead of immediately reassuring them.