The art of saying ‘NO’ in the professional world
‘Ne’, ‘Nope, ‘Nahi’, ‘Nada’ — there are roughly 6500 languages in the world today, which means there are at least 6500 ways in which a person can say ‘No’ -but why are we so scared to use this word? Our traditional upbringing to become a good human being and the desire to be the people’s person has somehow instilled this belief among us that saying or receiving ‘NO’ is catastrophic.A person with healthy boundaries can say “no” to others when they want to, but they are also comfortable opening themselves up to intimacy and close relationships.
Even when it's improper and the situation desperately demands a ‘NO’, we as civilized human beings refrain from doing it because we might just be considered unreliable or lose the favor of the concerned person. Our professional life witnesses instances, where refusing a project or saying no to a client actually saves time and provides us some mental peace. Since mind and time are the most powerful tool a human can have, to safeguard them, let us have a look at 5 polite ways of saying ’NO’ to a project:
1) When the project doesn’t interest you, is redundant or pointless
There are times when we receive dull projects or don’t serve to our potential as a writer. In such cases, we can simply say we are working to stay tightly focused on our mission and goals, and unfortunately, this project falls outside the parameters. Also, we can try and find a good fit for the project, offering to connect them is a way to keep things positive.
2) When you do not have the required time or want to postpone it
In such cases, we can politely refuse by saying “I wish I could help, but I know I couldn’t give it the time it deserves right now”. To avoid perpetual exhaustion, we can politely say that we would love to help out with that, but we already have prior commitments. and we don’t want to short-change that. Also before refusing it outright, we can try to postpone/ put it on hold for some time and ask if they could stall this before committing.
3) When there is monetary discontentment
There are times when the project requires a lot of time and effort but the disbursement given to us in return is dissatisfying and doesn’t do justice to our input. In such cases, we can simply say that the project sounds ideal, but since we believe in producing valuable content and do not comprise our quality, the quotation /budget provided by them doesn’t conform with our service.
4) When the project is outside your expertise
This project seems like an exciting task, but — unless I’m misinterpreting your instructions, it definitely falls outside my skill set. In this case, we can try and find them an alternative for the project and offer to connect them to maintain a good relation.
5) When you have clients with red flags
We encounter all kinds of people during our profession, and some of them might be not decent. In such cases, we can appreciate them for considering us but politely decline by saying that unfortunately, we don’t have the bandwidth to take it on, but will definitely let them know if that changes and would enjoy working with them in the future.
No matter what the situation is, in all the above-stated scenarios. we need to stay professional, keep our voice calm and steady and be aware of the body language. Let us remember that saying “no” to unrealistic workloads will be more beneficial to your customers, yourself, your loved ones and others will respect you more for it.
