How To Politely Decline a Request (With 10 Examples)
Whether you’re just beginning a new job or you’re a long-term professional, your time is valuable. No matter your position, clients, vendors, supervisors and coworkers will ask for both your time and attention. As a result, being able to politely decline requests at work is an important skill for both maintaining relationships and staying productive.
One reason declining requests is important is that you have a limited amount of time in your day and others may ask you to do more than is possible. You may take requests from clients, vendors, managers and coworkers who are simply unaware of your schedule and workload. Declining time-consuming or overly challenging requests realistically communicates your capabilities and competence. The second reason to politely decline requests is that, when done correctly, you can maintain relationships at your workplace. Further, if you offer effective alternative solutions, you may even improve workplace efficiency, teamwork and communication.
Offer an alternative
Sure, getting no as an answer won’t feel that great to the person on the other end. However, if you give them an alternative that seems equally good, they’ll probably accept the refusal a whole lot better.
Often times, someone’s request just isn’t possible to fulfill immediately. You may not know if it’s possible, you need another person’s authorization or it could be something completely different. In these situations, tell the person that you will check and get back to them at a later point in time. Of course, do make sure to actually get back to them.
I can’t tell you where your shipment is at the moment, but I will check up on that and let you know sometime tomorrow if that works for you.
OR
While I can’t help you out at the moment, you can check back tomorrow and see if we have any more of those shoes in stock.
How to Reject a Girl Nicely
It is common to find that you and the girl you met a few days ago are not compatible, even after a million dates or outings. It could also not be surprising for your long-term friend to admit to having a mad crush on you, and the feeling is not mutual. So, how to reject a girl nicely…it’s not always easy!
No matter the circumstances around you, it is not always easy to tell a girl that you don’t like her. You might be worried that your rejection of her could make you come across as a bad person.
1) Follow Your Instincts and Decide Beforehand How to Deliver the News
You know yourself best. That’s a fact. You also understand your interactions with the girl better than many other people around you – another fact. This also means that you have enough understanding of how to approach her with the news.
If rejecting her face to face may cause a disaster or hatred between the two of you, then you better call yourself to a meeting and explore other ways to do it better. Can writing a note work? Well, writing her a note will give her ample time and space required for the information to sink into her mind. It is also a good idea because it allows you to say everything that you need to say to her without causing unnecessary disasters and embarrassments.
As a rule of thumb, you need to gather enough courage and tell her in person, regardless of how hard and awkward it may seem. It should be simple to reject a girl nicely. Maintain it super simple and remember that you don’t owe anyone an explanation as regards your actions and decisions about serious life matters.
“Thanks, I’m not interested. I’m flattered.” is one direct statement you can use. Just let it be as direct as that because rejection sucks no matter how you sugar-coat it. It is good to keep in mind that you’re not being harsh but direct.
2) Keep Location and Timing in Mind
Location and timing are two critical things you should not ignore when rejecting a girl nicely. When making the big decision, consider how to do it in the least hurtful way possible, by taking into consideration when and where you are going to have this conversation.
Go for places that can afford both of you a lot of privacy. Avoid busy and noisy restaurants that leave no room for secrecy. You want the girl to know that you are not interested in her anymore, but yet still you don’t want to humiliate her before the eyes of the public.
Rarely do girls like to be stared at by strangers when they are upset and crying. What this means is that when choosing a better place for both of you to talk about your rejection of her, you should go for a private but neutral setting.
On timing, the longer you allow your ‘relationship’ to continue inside her mind, the hardest she will be hit when you finally lift the lid. So, not delaying the rejection is another point to consider.
3) Reject her With Respect, Honesty, and Integrity
After you’ve chosen the venue, time and means for your rejection, you now focus your energy and strength on what you want to tell her and how you’re going to do it. You need to be blunt and honest in your conversation with her. Avoid insulting or embarrassing her because it is completely unnecessary.
Never get mean to put your point across. This is to means that you should be straightforward in reasoning and remember to keep your sentences as short as possible. Do not delve too much into details.
“I appreciate the fact that you like me, but the feelings are not mutual. I don’t share your feelings. I tell you this out of the respect I have for you. Let us be just friends and I hope you’ll be okay with that.”
In thinking of how to reject a girl nicely, you should accommodate her feelings while being direct. You would not want to be kicked while you are already down, so don’t do it to her either. As a rule, treat them the way you like to be treated if you are the one doing the asking. This is acting the Golden-Rule style.
4) Don’t Give Her False Hopes That the Relationship is Not Over
If you have chosen to reject a girl nicely, then don’t lead her on with false promises that would make see as if the relationship is not over. The most crucial part of your conversation with her is to clear all doubts in her brain that you no longer want to be with her. Otherwise, you will paint a picture that things are not yet over between the two of you.
Avoid saying sentences that imply that there is a chance that the timing may be right later on. For instance, “I require enough time to get past my previous relationship” could mean that when you’re done with your previous relationship, you will want to get engaged to her.
Make a clean break and don’t leave her with illusions about the possibility of a future relationship. Leaving her on tenterhooks over that would mean more agony and trouble for her. Be completely honest with her and it will work, instead of letting her down easily as that won’t work in the long run.
Resource:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-politely-decline-a-request
https://www.liveagent.com/academy/how-to-politely-decline/
https://manworksdesign.com/how-to-reject-a-girl-nicely/