Honestly, this stuff is hard. I understand this can be stressful, and a manager should never accidentally flag that they want a difficult and serious conversat

Honestly, this stuff is hard. I understand this can be stressful, and a manager should never accidentally flag that they want a difficult and serious conversation by accident. Sometimes you need that conversation though, and foreshadowing it by giving context in text form is not better. Best case I think is simply to come see someone and speak to them immediately, or give them a phone call and do it that way. Second best is a meeting as soon as possible. When you need to speak to several people, it can be very stressful too to try to catch them one by one, find some are unavailable or not responsive, when you are trying to be respectful by sharing difficult news ahead of the grape vine.