Putting someone down by saying no might seem one of the hardest things for people. You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings because that will wake up that little devil called guilt. But saying yes always can put you in odd situations. So how can you say no without actually saying it? Here are some methods to do that:
When you want to save your money
Your colleagues are going on a trip and they insist you join them. But you just cannot go because you don’t want to invest in something like that as of now. Saying that, “I wish I could, but I am caught up in a project.” Now, this might be a polite way since no colleague would ever mess with work related issues. And you are not lying. You are caught up in a project of saving money. That is an important project!
When you don’t want to lose a potential client
You cannot take a certain project since you already have a lot of baggage. But you also don’t want to lose a client who can prove to be very lucrative for you. In such a situation you can say, “I can manage this task, but I don’t want to compromise with the quality of service. So I would like to start it when I can focus completely on this one if that’s okay with you.”. This would also show your dedication towards that particular project.
When you don’t want to annoy your boss
There are certain times when your boss piles up a lot of tasks for you with a very short deadline. But saying no to that might make you appear incompetent. At such a stage, it is better to show your boss the list of tasks that you already have. And after that, you can say, “If you could extend my deadline, I would be able to complete all the tasks given.” This will also show that you are not being an escapist.
Provide an alternative
Sometimes there are things that you just don’t want to do due to lack of lack of interest. In that case, you may provide an option that you would like to do. If that is being agreed upon, no issues. If not, you won’t be the one who has to say no.
Procrastinate
If you are not comfortable saying no to someone, may be a friend or a dear one; you might say “Let us do that next weekend.”. The only condition is that you cannot do that more than once to the same person. You don’t want to appear as someone who bails out every time.
Be honest with yourself
You need to understand that you will sound genuine only if you are honest. For this, you first need to look at the question and find out the reason for your refusal. Once you find that out, you can say no with a bit of sugar coating (if you want!).
There are times in your life where you have to just say no because there is nothing else that can justify yourself. It is always better to avoid such situations, but if at all you face something like that, you have to be firm and take your stand. Learn to say no to things without worrying about guilt. You must say no to things that stop you from achieving your goals. Always.