--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best way to mess with the head of…" description: "\"“The best way to mess with the head of your reader is to strategize the delivery of bad news.”\" — Benjamin Percy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/benjamin-percy-17850_bad-news_the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-yo_79353.jpg" --- # The best way to mess with the head of your reader is to… ![“The best way to mess with the head of your reader is to strategize the delivery of bad news.” quote by Benjamin Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/benjamin-percy-17850_bad-news_the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-yo_79353.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/benjamin-percy-17850_bad-news_the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-yo_79353.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/benjamin-percy-17850_bad-news_the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-yo_79353.jpg) > ““The best way to mess with the head of your reader is to strategize the delivery of bad news.”” [Benjamin Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Manipulating the timing and framing of negative information can control the reader's emotional response and perception. **In simple terms:** Control through delivery timing Key Takeaway Timing shapes impact Themes psychology communication persuasion storytelling cognition Mood cautious strategic analytical Type advice observation strategy When to use this quote - writing a news article - crafting a corporate memo - delivering personal bad news - creating a suspenseful narrative Key Concepts framing emotional manipulation information sequencing Practical Applications - strategic communication - narrative design Questions to Reflect On - How does delivery timing affect audience reaction? - What ethical limits exist for shaping perception? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ## Related quotes > [I hate when people mess with my head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-when-people-mess-with-my-head/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love the fact that I can mess with someone's head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-esfandiari/i-love-the-fact-that-i-can-mess-with-someone-s-head/) Antonio Esfandiari > [I have a mess in my head sometimes, and there's something very satisfying about putting it into words. 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Clifford > [“Perhaps the hardest thing in all literature— at least I have found it so: by no voluntary effort can I accomplish it: I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/perhaps-the-hardest-thing-in-all-literature-at-least-i-have-found-it/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [“Something is wrong with a sentence when you can delete words and not sense the loss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvan-barnet/something-is-wrong-with-a-sentence-when-you-can-delete-words-and-not/) [Sylvan Barnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvan-barnet/) > [“Write it. Just write it. 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But there was nothing playful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/i-grew-up-with-guns-for-my-16th-birthday-in-fact-i-received-a-357/) [Benjamin Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/) > [I want to build as many worlds as possible - each a version of ours with a crack running through it - and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/i-want-to-build-as-many-worlds-as-possible-each-a-version-of-ours/) [Benjamin Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/) > [“So you could write what you know. 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If you look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/i-think-my-leap-into-tv-and-movies-and-comics-is-in-a-way-natural/) [Benjamin Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/) > [“I would encourage subtlety. Nabokov’s bubble gum or Munro’s water over Dumbo’s magic feather.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/i-would-encourage-subtlety-nabokov-s-bubble-gum-or-munro-s-water-over/) [Benjamin Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/) > [“Realism is the trend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/realism-is-the-trend/) [Benjamin Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/) [Explore all 36 Benjamin Percy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/) ## More Bad news quotes > [In the wake of such bad news, it was heartening to know that what 'Sense8' stood for meant so much to so many people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-j-smith/in-the-wake-of-such-bad-news-it-was-heartening-to-know-that-what/) [Brian J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-j-smith/) > [“I remember a man, a very lonely man, coming up to me at the end of a reading and looking into my face and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-remember-a-man-a-very-lonely-man-coming-up-to-me-at-the-end-of-a/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [In the business world, bad news is usually good news - for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/in-the-business-world-bad-news-is-usually-good-news-for-somebody-else/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [You never want to have to give your child bad news of any kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/you-never-want-to-have-to-give-your-child-bad-news-of-any-kind/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [If there's one thing you should know about me it's that I'm utterly unsuited for bureaucracy. I don't know my passwords to anything. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-torres/if-there-s-one-thing-you-should-know-about-me-it-s-that-i-m-utterly/) [Julio Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-torres/) > [I seem to thrive by destroying the last thing I did, in a kind of cartoon Nietzsche way. Emerson says in "Experience" something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-seem-to-thrive-by-destroying-the-last-thing-i-did-in-a-kind-of/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [“The bad news is that, measured in terms of geologic time, if the Earth’s history is an accurate guide, glaciers will soon return to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bernstein/the-bad-news-is-that-measured-in-terms-of-geologic-time-if-the-earth/) [Andrew Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bernstein/) > [I love an underdog. No, I don't necessarily mean the cartoon. I mean like David, as in Goliath, or the Bears, as in The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-lublin/i-love-an-underdog-no-i-don-t-necessarily-mean-the-cartoon-i-mean/) [Nancy Lublin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-lublin/) > [The good news is that economists are intelligent, engaging and often charming folks. The bad news is their work is often of little use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/the-good-news-is-that-economists-are-intelligent-engaging-and-often/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [The flatter the corporate hierarchy, the more likely it is that employees will communicate bad news and act upon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-flatter-the-corporate-hierarchy-the-more-likely-it-is-that/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The good news may be that Nature is phasing out the white man, but the bad news is that's who She thinks we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-good-news-may-be-that-nature-is-phasing-out-the-white-man-but-the/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [For a long period of time, the media covered rap music and hip hop the same way they cover a lot of black people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/for-a-long-period-of-time-the-media-covered-rap-music-and-hip-hop-the/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [“Shifting from a superior/inferior paradigm to a strength-in-difference paradigm was kind of a good news/bad news situation. On the downside, I had to admit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debby-irving/shifting-from-a-superior-inferior-paradigm-to-a-strength-in/) [Debby Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debby-irving/) > [“The real secret, though, is that nobody belongs, whether they are natives or not. After expulsion from paradise all humans are in exile. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-codrescu/the-real-secret-though-is-that-nobody-belongs-whether-they-are/) [Andrei Codrescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-codrescu/) > [“I have bad news to tell you two poor boys have died at stonyhurst within the last 3 weeks from getting croup. to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lellenberg/i-have-bad-news-to-tell-you-two-poor-boys-have-died-at-stonyhurst/) Jon Lellenberg Browse all 691 Bad news quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The best way to mess with the head of your reader is to strategize the delivery of bad news.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benjamin Percy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-your-reader-is-to-strategize/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad news" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-your-reader-is-to-strategize/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/benjamin-percy-17850_bad-news_the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-yo_79353.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/benjamin-percy-17850_bad-news_the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-yo_79353.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/benjamin-percy-17850_bad-news_the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-yo_79353.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The best way to mess with the head of your reader is to strategize the delivery of bad news.” — Benjamin Percy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Benjamin Percy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The best way to mess with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-your-reader-is-to-strategize/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-your-reader-is-to-strategize/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```