14 Ways to Say No – At Least One of These Will Work the Next Time You’re Asked to Do Something!

Posted on September 6th, 2009, by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D.

Does the word ‘no’ rarely come out of your mouth? In particular, do you find yourself having difficulty responding ‘no’ when someone asks you to do something? Or, maybe you are able to say ’no’ at first, but then if the person looks disappointed or asks (begs) you to reconsider, then ‘yes’ ends up being your answer?

This is VERY common and is part of what is leading to feeling overwhelmed. You may be one of the people who commits to doing:

more than is humanly possible,
more than you ‘should’ be doing,
more than what falls under your job description, or
more than ________________ (you fill in the blank).

However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t change that behavior. As Aristotle said, “What lies in our power to do, lies in our power not to do.”

Here is a list of 14 ways to say, “No,” in case you need a few suggestions (and if you’re reading this article, you probably do!)

No.
No!
No, thank you.
No, it will not fit in my schedule.
No, I simply cannot say yes. (This is my personal favorite, by the way!)
It is just not possible for me to take on one more task (job, responsibility, intern, class, committee, student, title, report, project, etc.).
No way.
Not a chance!
Sorry, I can’t.
The answer is absolutely not.
Although I would like to give you a hand, I am on an incredibly tight deadline. If 10 minutes (be exact) of my time would be helpful, come back at 4:45 (end of day or some other specified time) and I will see if I can help then.
I appreciate your asking me and I hope that you appreciate that I have to say no.
Sorry, I will not be able to because I already have a commitment at that time.
Sure, I can do that. And, which of these other tasks should I not do?

“Despite what your friends might think, ‘no’ is a good answer. Everyone thinks ‘no’ is a bad answer. ‘Maybe’ is the bad answer. ‘Yes’ is the best answer, the one we all want. But ‘no’ at least ends the conversation.” Al McGuire

And if you would like to download signs to keep handy in your office (or on your refrigerator) with these phrases for saying ‘no,’ just go to

**http://toptenproductivitytips.com/downloads.php

and you’ll see the free download right there for you. I also have a teleseminar titled “Available -to -Promise“ that helps you determine when and why you may need to say no.

(c) 2009 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., “The Ph.D. of Productivity”(tm). Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do. Sound interesting? It is!