- I am in the middle of several projects
- I am not comfortable with that
- I am not taking on any new responsibilities
- I am not the most qualified person for the job
- I do not enjoy that kind of work
- I do not have any more room in my calendar
- I hate to split my attention among projects
- I have another commitment
- I have no experience with that
- I know you will do a wonderful job yourself
- I need to focus more on my personal life
- I need to focus on my career right now
- I need to leave some free time for myself
- I would rather decline than do a mediocre job
- I would rather help out with another task
- Let me hook you up with someone who can do it
- No
- Not right now, but I can do it later
- Some things have come up that need my attention
- This really is not my strong suit
This is a good list, and the site contains reasons why they can be used and why you can justify using one of them. But saying no doesn’t really require justification. You don’t need to explain yourself. The greatest reason that I have ever heard and which ends the discussion before it begins is from Dr. Paul O.: “I’d rather not.” And, if you’re really irritated, or you just don’t want to be polite you can always try, “What? Are you high?”