When and How to Say “No”

Learning to say “no” is one of the most challenging, yet useful skills you can develop in both your personal and professional life. Here are a few reasons why:

• Acknowledge that you cannot do everything. When you say “yes” to everyone, you leave yourself trapped with little time. Saying “no” will give you more time to focus of existing obligations and important priorities.

• Remember that “no” is not always a negative thing. When you say “no” to extra requests, you are actually saying “yes” to a reasonable workload. The alternative often means burying yourself in hours of extra work and fretting over deadlines just because couldn’t turn someone down.

• If you are worried about meeting expectations or finishing on time, be upfront and say “no”, rather than over-promising and under-delivering.

• Realize you cannot please everyone and that you have to draw the line somewhere. If you say “yes” to everything, people may be more likely to take advantage of you.

• Beware that people who say “yes” to everything often become overly stressed, run down, and frequently sick as a result of overcommitting.

• In many cases, saying “no” can instantly relieve stress and make you a happier person overall.

• Saying “no” to temptation can help you stay on the track and achieve your health goals.

• By saying “no”, you open the door of opportunity for others to step up and get involved or do their part.

Here are a few tips on how to say “no” gracefully:

• Be firm, calm, and polite.

• Provide a brief explanation of why you cannot do something.

• Do not apologize too much. Just give a simple response.

• Consider offering alternatives, such as “I do not have time to work on this until tomorrow, but <NAME> said she has some free time today if you need it right away.”

Remember, saying “no” to one request will often allow you to say “yes” to others.