Give Someone a Significant Promotion Decision Explanation

Promotion conversations go wrong when the manager hedges so much that the person does not know the outcome until they are halfway home, or gives reasons so vague that the feedback is useless. This scripts the conversation both ways: specific reasoning, a direct opening, and a close that leaves the person knowing what happens next. Plus the thing managers typically say that makes these conversations worse.

I need to tell {PERSON} that they are (or are not) being promoted this cycle, and I need to do it well. The decision is: [promoted / not promoted at this time]. If not promoted, the reasons are: [specific reasons]. Write me a script for this conversation: how to open it, how to deliver the news directly without hedging, how to explain the reasoning specifically, and what to say at the end so the person leaves the room with clarity about what comes next. Tell me the one thing managers say in these conversations that makes them worse.