Conversations
A Broken Promise Creates a Communication Obligation
A promise creates expectations in another person’s life. That is why breaking one is not only a private matter.
Plans change, capacity disappears, people forget, and sometimes we simply fail. None of that makes silence a reasonable next step. If someone organized action around our word, they need to know what will not happen and what can still be done.
Communication does not erase the breach. It can prevent the breach from growing through avoidable uncertainty. We may also need to ask what consequences our failure created and what part of them we can repair.
A promise includes more than its hoped for completion. It also asks how we respond when completion does not occur.