Transcripts

Jana Kemp:
When we learn to say no more effectively we actually feel less stress in our lives. By learning to say no and keeping our resolve other people start to respect our personal boundaries and our professional boundaries.

Jana Kemp, author of the book, NO! How One Simple Word Can Transform Your Life, says you might be surprised how people react when you say no.

The very first time that I said no without thinking about the finesse of my response was for a volunteer opportunity. And I had someone say, " Gosh wouldn't you be willing to serve as secretary for this organization?" And I said, "No". And the person's facial expression just suddenly changed and I thought, oh my gosh I wasn't really very polite about that. And then as I explained why I had said no and what my other time commitments were this man said, " Gosh, I so admire that you were so clear on what you could say no to, I wish I could do that more in my life".

Too often even when we think we're saying no we're really saying maybe.

For example, "No Mike I can't do that right now". Is that a no or is that a maybe?

That's a maybe because maybe you can do it later. So what's a better way to say no?

I like to say things like; " Thanks for thinking of me on this request, no I won't be able to follow through on it because I've already committed my volunteer hours for the month. Or " My schedule is so loaded with projects right now that I'm not in a position to take on anything else".

At somethingyoushouldknow.net I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.