![]() ![]() It’s much better for everyone involved if you say no when you need to. Imagine if you overpromised by saying yes when you really needed to say no and then underdelivered? Disappointment, conflict, and other unpleasant problems will inevitably ensue and you’ll be responsible for that. Even in this case, I would still recommend sending the initial “I got your email, and I’ll get back to you soon” response, as this will allow you time to stop freaking out and craft your response once you’re calm.įurthermore, saying no when we need to say no will actually help prevent future (and likely worse) disappointment and conflict. Sometimes we don’t want to respond to the email because we already know we’re going to say no and we’re worried about causing conflict or disappointing the other person. And don’t forget to send your answer by the time or day you said you would! Keeping your word, even in little things, is part of maintaining your reputation. Make sure you check your spelling and punctuation. Remember, this is email – you can take your time to edit for tact and grammar. Take your time to edit for tact and grammar. A “not at this time” response would be practically the same, you would just add in when you think you could help out. Okay, so here are the elements of the “no” response: 1) opening pleasantries, 2) saying no within the context of your current work responsibilities, 3) suggesting someone who can help instead and why them, 4) expressing gratitude, 5) closing pleasantries. Thank you for thinking of me, and I hope you have a great weekend!” Her experience with marketing would be a definite asset. However, I think Sandi Johnson would be a great addition to your project. “Hi Jack, I hope you had a great week! After considering my current work responsibilities and discussing how this new project would affect my team and their responsibilities, I’ve decided that I can’t help out with this project, unfortunately. Let’s look at a sample “no” and then break it down: The good news is that email allows you to craft your response so everything is perfect. But if your answer is “no,” or even “no for right now,” you might be worried about how to tactfully deliver your decision. Next is the actual hard part – you have to make your decision! If you can say yes, great! That’s the easy email. You need to convey that 1) you read his email, 2) you’re going to consider what he’s asking of you, and 3) you’re telling him when you will give him your answer. Obviously, you’re going to tailor this to your specific situation, but the elements will be the same. Let me think about it and get back to you by tomorrow. Or it could read: “Hi Jack, I received your email. Let me look at my current workload and discuss it with my team, and I will get back to you by the end of the week. Say something like: “Hi Jack, I received your email. Because * surprise* you don’t have to decide right now! Your whole response will only take a minute or less, so don’t pretend you’re going to come back to it soon “when you have the time” as a way of procrastinating having to decide what to say. You can’t ignore the email for long (it is your boss after all, and who knows if he has read receipts?), but you don’t know what to say. You just opened an email from your boss asking you to take on a new project, and all you’re feeling right now is flustered and unsure. But what do you do when you don’t know how to respond to an email? What To Say When You Don’t Know What To Say People expect you to be checking your email throughout the day and responding “in a timely manner” (that timeframe varies, but it’s usually one to two business days). This sense of urgency and being always available has spilled over into the workplace with emails, specifically with emails that we can answer from our phones. ![]() Skip ahead two hundred years, and now we have texting, which allows us to send the written word instantaneously, and if someone doesn’t respond within 10 minutes, we wonder what the heck else they could possibly be doing rather than texting us back. Collins’ letter after two whole weeks had passed as he “thought it a case of some delicacy and requiring early attention,” and secondly, that paying someone to carry a letter miles and miles on horseback was the fastest long-distance communication possible in the early 1800s. I remember reading Pride and Prejudice and being struck by two things: firstly, Mr. ![]()
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