“Can We Talk?” Reducing Anxiety for Your Team

Internal communications aren’t just about sharing information. They’re about how you make people feel while doing it.

And one of the fastest ways to spike anxiety across your team? Dropping messages with no context.

• A calendar invite with a blank description.

• A vague “can we talk?” on Slack.

• A request for a phone call with zero detail.

Even worse? The meeting is many hours or days away.

You may think it’s efficient. But your colleagues’ hearts may start beating a little faster.

Why? The Negativity Bias

When you leave an information gap, the brain rushes to fill it. As humans, many of us have a negativity bias, a cognitive bias that makes negative possibilities feel more urgent, more believable, and more emotionally sticky than neutral or positive ones.

That bias leaves us filling in the gap with the worst-case scenario. You may hit “send” and move on with your day, while your anxious teammate is thinking:

• “I’m getting fired.”

• “My project went sideways.”

• “I’ve disappointed you.”

Meanwhile, productivity plummets. After all, it’s hard to focus when you’re bracing for impact.

At Clarity Channels Communications, home of The EO Report, we have a mantra:
Leave nothing to chance.

We remove that assumption gap, giving the negativity bias no wiggle room. It’s a rule we apply to external audiences, and it matters just as much (if not more) for internal ones, especially when you’re a manager communicating with a direct report. You may think your team knows you wouldn’t leave them hanging. But anxiety doesn’t care about your intentions. It fills the silence in sometimes crazy ways.

So what’s the fix? Context.

It doesn’t need to be an essay. One sentence is enough to keep stress levels in check. Try:

• “Can we talk? Topic: Quick check-in on planning for next week’s event.”

• “This is just a touch base. I want to hear how projects are going and see if you need any resources.”

• “Do you have 30 minutes to walk me through the social media analytics I’m sharing with leadership?”

One line of clarity turns a fear spiral into a prep moment. It also sets you up for a more productive conversation.

But what about confidential topics?

You can still lower the temperature without giving away details:

• “Hey, I have a confidential topic to discuss. Not bad news, and nothing you need to prepare.”

• “There’s an upcoming project I need to loop you in on. It’s confidential for now, but I’ll explain in the meeting.”

And if the news is genuinely tough, especially something you can’t telegraph like a termination conversation, then the most humane thing you can do is eliminate the waiting period. Don’t let someone sit in dread for an extended period of time. Deliver the message promptly and with care.

For everything else? Give context. Spare people the unnecessary anxiety.

It costs you nothing, and it gives your colleagues back their peace of mind, their productivity, and their ability to trust that communication from you doesn’t come with a gut punch attached.

And, if this happens to you, and you’re uncomfortable, consider asking the meeting requester one of these follow-ups:

• “Thanks for the meeting invite. Is there anything I can prepare?”

• “I look forward to the touch base. Can you share more about topics for the meeting?”