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Today we feature a guest post from Al at 7pproductions:

Saying “No” to New Commitments

Are there activities in your life that you wish you were doing but didn’t
have time to do it? Time on projects that you want to do on but can’t?
Time with friends or family? Time with yourself?

If this sentiment is strong with you, then you most likely are saying
“yes” to too many commitments. Realize that when you say yes, you are
saying “no” at the same time to all the other possibilities that were your
options without realizing it. When you say yes at work for a task, you
are saying no to other tasks that may be more valuable to you and your
company. When you say yes to working late, you are saying no to either
your friends, family, or yourself for personal time. Since you’re already
saying no to something all the time, the key is to learn when to say no.

Saying no is not always a selfish act – it took me a long time to arrive
at this conclusion. If a someone asks me for a favor, I’m such a
people-pleaser that I’m a sucker for saying yes as a reflex. However, by
taking my time and energy to help this person, I will have less to do the
things that are important me and those that are important in my life.
Saying yes to everyone is cheating the people who are closest to me.

There is an art to saying no… here are seven ways of saying no to a new
commitment:

1.Up-front honesty: Typically this is the simplest and best approach. If
they know the true reason why you aren’t saying yes, then they can judge
whether to approach you for the next situation, which actually might be
for a good opportunity where you would want to say yes to.

2.Redirection: Point that person to a direction (another person, another
approach) where they will have a better chance of finding a yes. If you
are a person who can redirect someone to an effective alternative, you
will still be considered valuable.

3.Letting the other person say no for you: Don’t bear all the burden! If
you know that saying yes in this situation is saying no to a more
important situation, then just present your case and let the other person
say no for you.

4.Not now, but later: The word “maybe” is sometimes a good euphemism for
“no.”

5.Circumstances: Sometimes it’s not a choice at all… you have prior
commitments, or conflicts of interest, or whatever. Circumstances is
saying no, not you. Make sure it’s legitimate though, since integrity is
also important.

6.Be Polite: If none of the above options are viable, then a polite “no”
should do the trick. You risk the chance of being perceived as an
unhelpful person, but sometimes you simply have to politely say no without
going through the messy details of the other approaches.

7.Be Blunt: This is the tactic against the persistent salesperson. Sometimes
the emphatic “no” is the only “no” they’ll hear.