The person entrusted with good news should let its owner keep the pleasure of announcing it.

Being told early is a loan, not a transfer. The offer, the engagement, the result belongs to the person living it, and part of what they get from it is the moment of telling people themselves. Passing it along ahead of them takes that moment away, usually without meaning any harm and often just from enthusiasm. Holding it is a small discipline and a real gift.

If someone tells you something before it is public, ask plainly who else knows and what they would like you to do. Then let them go first, even when the silence is uncomfortable for a while.