4 Ways to Say No Without Saying No

4 Ways to Say No Without Saying No

One of the greatest contributors to ineffectiveness is over commitment. The biggest reason for over commitment is inability or unwillingness to say no. While a candid no is often the best stated no there are other no options. Here I’m going to share four of my favorites.

Clarify
The first is my absolute favorite. You can clarify yourself. To clarify yourself you simply need to state what actually may be obvious. One afternoon last winter it was blowing snow and my son and I were working hard to get some wood split for the night. In pulled a neighbor who briskly walked up o the wood pile where we were working. He asked if I was busy, and proceeded to ask for a favor without giving a moment to answer his first question. So, used the clarify response. “I wish I weren’t so busy today, but I have to get this would split and stacked and that’s going to take me until after dark. Can this wait until tomorrow morning?”

Reciprocate
Another fabulous alternative to no is to reciprocate. When someone asks a favor of you, consider replying something like this. “Actually, if you can help get the rest of this wood split and stacked we could be done in about an hour and that would leave us enough daylight to run by your place. Do you mind?” To reciprocate is to simply ask for something in return when you commit to meeting the request.

Disqualify
It might be that you actually lack knowledge or ability to meet the request. In such a case you simply state that you don’t know how. It might sound like this. “Wouldn’t know where to begin and it would take several days to gather the information just to get started. Do you have that kind of time?”

Refer
Making a referral is a very soft way to say no to a request. It may sound like this. “You know Ron has a great deal of small engine experience and I have found that he is very timely with his work. He could probably get that for you right away. Do you have his number?”

Bill is available for keynotes and seminars. He is a master in communication and loves teaching professionals how to communicate more effectively. You can follow him on twitter at www.twitter.com/billthebuilder

His email is charles@charlesspeaks.com

You can learn more about him at www.charlesspeaks.com