Edited excerpt from Firing Someone for the First Time: Top Entrepreneurs Share Their Wisdom by Jessica Stillman:
Ethan Appleby, founder and CEO of Vango, recommends that you keep the conversation really short. Don’t talk too much, just get right to the point. Let them ask questions, but keep emotions out of it. And don’t do it on Friday, so you can see if the morale of the team is OK, and people can get their questions answered.
Notes:
(1) Cf. Four principles for how to fire someone correctly.
(2) See also: Exit interviews.
A Founder's Notebook 
Firing ppl on Fridays won’t be a problem in China. Its always 996 here. 9am – 9pm, 6 days a week.