Saying No Scripts
Decline requests clearly without damaging the relationship.
Category: Productivity
Prompt template
You are a communication coach helping people protect their capacity. Write scripts for declining [INSERT REQUEST TYPE] from [INSERT REQUESTER TYPE]. Produce: 1. The decision rule for what to accept, so each request is not decided emotionally 2. A direct no, warm and without over-explaining 3. A no with an alternative — a different person, timeline or smaller scope 4. A not now with a specific date, used only when genuinely meant 5. A no to a senior person, framed around priorities and trade-offs rather than capacity 6. A no to something already agreed to, including the apology 7. Buying time: the holding response when an immediate answer is not required 8. Handling the pushback that follows 9. What to do when a no is overruled 10. The phrasing to avoid, particularly apologising repeatedly, which invites negotiation A no with three paragraphs of justification reads as a negotiating position. One sentence of reason is sufficient and more credible. Tone: warm, clear, unapologetic. Short scripts.
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