The art of saying "No" - How did you learn it?
Kaushik Vikram Balaji
61 replies
Replies
Vedran Rasic@vedranrasic
LeadDelta professional relationships CRM
You have to learn where "always YES" is coming from. Tackle that and be happy forever, saying "no" with a smile. :)
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@vedranrasic Yeah, a simple smile really helps :)
I think saying 'No' becomes easy when you are able to articulate it politely and without causing offense.
In my line of work, I have had potential clients lowball me. On one hand, I need their projects, but cannot say yes to move ahead. So, instead of saying 'no, sorry', I say it more politely like "Unfortunately, that does not work for me. Can we do this instead?". It keeps the conversation going while also having conveyed what you needed to say.
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@anand_sriniv I find it hard to say no, and I think you articulated it well when you said that the fear of saying no is usually due to fear or offending someone.
@anand_sriniv Yep, definitely find it easier when you can word it in a professional manner. But I think it's still important to be able to say "no" in a more direct manner.
The professionalism make work in a business environment, but for other areas in your life, it may be better to just be more direct.
@anand_sriniv Politeness wins! Great point, Anand!
I struggled for a long time until I joined Mckinsey, and they taught me a framework mostly to deal with demanding situations.
Might look like I plug but just sharing as its fitting. I wrote extensively about it here:
https://twitter.com/supermode_/s...
Roundup
To say "No" to something you need to first have a perspective about it. You will have a perspective on it if you have cared about the subject enough. 🧐
So start caring about what you are building, who you are building it for, and why are you building it. 🧘♂️
When you do, you will have your opinions and will be able to meaningfully answer with a "yes" or a "no".
@manas_sharma True, Manas! Great point :)
Roundup
@kaushik_vikram_balaji I'm launching Roundup today! 😁 I would love to hear your feedback 🙏
@manas_sharma Hey, I'm excited. Sure, I'll be supporting Roundup today.
Pitchery
Short answer is - the hard way.
Saying "No" doesn't come naturally to any of us. We say yes to most anything, something's work out and most don't.
It's only when I looked closer with an intent to find out why am I being unproductive or not making progress - is I realised I wasn't valuing my time, attention, and purpose correctly. My focus was wavering.
The problem is one can read all the books, anecdotes from others, create frameworks - but it is only through personal experience that you learn the art of saying no. Because it is NOT the outside world that forces you to say yes, it is your voice from inside.
@swapdp_01 Good one, Swapnil!
PHPRunner
Initially, I said yes to all feature requests. At some point, it became very clear that the product will become bloated quickly if we keep doing that and now we only approve those features that many customers requested and that fit our product vision.
For all other requests, it is a polite "no".
@sergey_kornilov1 Yes, true! Especially for someone who is building the product, it's high time we start saying no to all the feature requests that come our way.
I was struggling with it too. In my case, a simple exercise worked pretty well. I told myself that my default first answer will be no to all for some time😉
The person who asked me to do something could always convince me to change my mind, and very often my final answer was "yes." However, it was always followed by reasonable discussion and solid arguments from the requester.
Most importantly, this trick set up my mind to raise more questions and have a deeper think about request. In my case, the fact that I often agreed to some things was due to a lack of proper thinking about the topic and an automatic „yes” answer. If you give yourself some time to think about the request you are more likely to answer „no”, and if you eventually say „yes” it is usually a thoughtful decision.
Wedo
through practice: Just say NO.
By saying "NO"
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I started doing it more when I started feeling what is going on inside me when I make a decision or communicate one. And now the voice is so loud that I can't ignore it.
@ana_maria_ghita Haha! That's nice, Ana! Hope you're able to strongly convince your stakeholders.
By being taken advantage of to the point where it really bothered me, and over the years, I started to say no.
Its the same scenario on why would a dog sit on a nail, why won't it stand up> It squeecks and cries... Well, because it isn't hurting enough, yet.
And funny thing is, when I started doing that, I actually got more money. I lived at a place which I rented and lived with the owner and I was a guy that would go to the shop many times for free etc... then I started to say no and they paid me now to go.
One of many stories.
The mindset applies in other aspects of life. Eventually you get enough of bs and you start to change, as long as you want to - as some people want to stay under the radar the whole time, but you don't grow that way.
@aurelianspodarec Brilliant! Yes, the mindset matters. Good luck, I can't wait to see the SaaS you're building.
@kaushik_vikram_balaji Yeah, mindset first and then practice. It was definitely hard to standup for myself. Funny fact, i watched Julius Cesare movie and after that I started to stand up for myself. Be like Cesare xD It will be a few products :D Some small some larger
tell your honest reasons why you're saying NO and sometimes people rework on their side and give you better stuff.
@iam_sathya Right! Curious to know the people's willingness to rework after your no. Are they ready for it?
@kaushik_vikram_balaji it depends on case by case. Based on the other person's need/want/goals they will show the interest. Like if the other have the great leverage or outcome they will pursue and tend to rework multiple times.
Still learning it :)
Great point to discuss but still looking for better ways to say no.
@patilganesh1010 true, there are always better ways to say no. It depends on what's the "No" for and why is it actually "No"and not "YES.
once you just start it becomes empowering and therefore it becomes compelling and easy
@simon_s_j Thanks for your response, Simon! Good one.
Still learning, but it's definitely really important :)
@arpan_011 We all our learners, Arpan! Don't worry, it's just the matter of time. Look at this comment section. There are some real good points that will help.
Setting boundaries by learning to say "no" has been one of the best things I've ever done and once you start saying it, it becomes very easy to do
Finding clear and kind ways to say no.
@anoirhoumou Kindness and empathy over anything! Thanks for the response, Anoir.
Learning to say "no" is an important skill to have in order to maintain healthy boundaries and take care of yourself. It can be helpful to practice saying "no" in your head, set clear boundaries with others, be assertive when you do say "no," and consider offering an alternative solution if you can't do something that someone has asked of you. Remember that it is okay to say "no" and that you are not obligated to do everything that others ask of you.