{"id":7149,"date":"2026-05-03T17:40:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T17:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/?p=7149"},"modified":"2026-05-03T17:40:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T17:40:55","slug":"the-art-of-saying-no-politely-of-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/uncategorized\/the-art-of-saying-no-politely-of-course\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Saying No (Politely, of Course)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top\" style=\"grid-template-columns:24% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Cool.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7150 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>You know that moment when someone asks you for a favour\u2026 and your brain says \u201cno,\u201d but your mouth says \u201cyes, of course!\u201d? It happens to the best of us. Especially in English. Because in English, \u201cno\u201d is rarely just \u201cno.\u201d It\u2019s more like a polite dance, taking the scenic route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Where a German might say a clear and efficient \u201cNein,\u201d an English speaker will usually try to be as polite as possible, not wanting to offend the other person:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d love to, but I\u2019m afraid I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat sounds great, but I\u2019ve already got something on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not sure I can manage that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or the all-time classic: \u201cLet me get back to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(We all know what that one usually means.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what\u2019s going on here? In English-speaking cultures, politeness often means softening what you say. Instead of a direct \u201cno,\u201d you add a cushion: a friendly phrase, a small apology, a hint of regret. The message stays the same\u2014but it feels kinder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem is, of course, that if we always say \u201cyes\u201d (or something that sounds very much like yes), life can become rather\u2026 busy. And just a little bit stressful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Which is why learning how to say \u201cno\u201d politely is not just a language skill\u2014it\u2019s a life skill. A good \u201cEnglish no\u201d might save your evening, your weekend, or even your sanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly, this idea\u2014making small changes to reduce everyday stress\u2014is exactly what the excellent book <em>Keep It Cool<\/em> by one of my clients, Dr Miriam Fritsch-K\u00fcmpel, explores. It\u2019s a practical self-help book on how to stay calm under pressure, and that small behavioural shifts can make a noticeable difference to both wellbeing and performance, especially at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So next time someone asks you for a favour, remember: in English, you don\u2019t have to say \u201cno\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You just have to say it very, very nicely.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You know that moment when someone asks you for a favour\u2026 and your brain says \u201cno,\u201d but your mouth says \u201cyes, of course!\u201d? It happens to the best of us. Especially in English. Because&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["de","en"],"languages":{"de":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7149"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7152,"href":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7149\/revisions\/7152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jolliffe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}