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How To Say No in English
How To Say No in English
How To Say No in English
Do you often say yes when someone asks you for a favor?
Do you give in to people’s requests, even if you’ve already got too much on
As a leader, you want to gain the trust and loyalty of the people you work with.
You know that working with people who are comfortable and trusting of you
However, there’s a fine line between being a likeable person and being a
people-pleaser.
To be an effective leader, sometimes you have to put your foot down and say
Saying yes to every single opportunity can be just as disruptive and stressful
Your schedule is already bursting at the seams with tasks and appointments.
Adding more just to please others can lead to overwhelm, making it difficult to
Your own priorities are compromised as well. Each yes comes with a cost
Networking opportunities
If you want to achieve work-life balance and still be a great leader to your
opportunities that may not align with your short- and long-term goals.
If you’re worried about hurting feelings or burning a bridge or two, there are
ways to frame the no so you remain polite, professional, and likeable to others.
This is a polite and professional way of asking for more time to consider the
request. As a busy leader, you often need to think things through before
thinking of you.
You can then follow it up with an honest reason why you can't accept the
This is best for when you truly believe the request is worth looking into again
in the future.
If you're absolutely sure this is something you want to consider again, offer to
reschedule at a better time when you can devote your full attention.
the best answer you can give. There's no room for false hope and you can rest
assured that you're still on track with your schedule and goals.
You can tweak any of these 4 scripts to best convey your decision and the
The scripts above are useful when turning down a request as it's presented to
you. But what if you've agreed to commit and need to cancel at the last
minute?
Nobody wants to go back on his or her word, but you may need to step back
and make room for opportunities that best align with what you want to do or
achieve.
While it isn't going to be easy, you need to be honest both with yourself and
with the person you've agreed to work with. Step up and be transparent about
To help you out, here's a short and simple step-by-step guide you can tweak to
best communicate how you need to cancel your agreement in a polite and
professional manner.
1. Acknowledge that you've agreed to commit to the request. ("I know that
2. Apologize and explain that you have to cancel the commitment. (". . .
but things have changed since then and I feel I may not have the time
can recommend a few people who have the skills to handle your project.
about a new feature they want to add to a project. With a clear project plan,
you can break the bad news without being the bad guy.