Have been openly honest with people on a number of more occasions and certainly felt the fear as I waited for their response. So it becomes a two part goal, one to express, the other to be tolerant of the backlash. Of course, it isn't always backlash which also helps. Obviously the fear of being openly honest was the fear that heavy sadness or anger was going to result.
I'm still using email pretty heavily and can't even bring myself to answer the phone at work. I'd rather they left a message and I could prepare how to respond. I think it's a legitimate way to deal with it, essentially people phoning are expecting to jump the queue. By hearing their message, I can assess if I need to respond immediately or if other things have higher priority. Great rationalization eh?
