the most succinct sentence?
Like most people, I’m often asked to help out. Requests for all sorts of things from speaking at an event to fostering a kitten. Now we’re all short on time and it is human nature to want to help, the problem is lots of people don’t like to say NO and end up wasting other people’s time and disappointing them in the process. I know my inability to say no is a fundamental character weakness. Why? well that’s the story of a much longer blog post! In the meantime, I’ll share a useful strategy which helps me deal with this gut reaction of saying YES! Rather than an immediate ‘yes’, I draw on variations of these three.
- Let me check my diary
- I’d love to but it doesn’t work for me
- This time I can’t but please, do ask me again
Source: Unknown
Why does this work for me?
Response no. 1: Gives me time to make check so when I do come back with a YES, I can be absolutely sure I do whatever it is really well, rather than just fitting this request in, so it’s a WIN/WIN
Response no. 2: I don’t need to justify myself. No-one is really interested in why you can’t do something. This brevity of response saves time wasting – on both sides.
Response no. 3: This reinforces that though I can’t oblige this time, I’ll have an opportunity to help again. And people do come back when another need arises!
Click to discuss Personal and Corporate Assertiveness Training over coffee!