Respectful Refusal Quotes

Never assume that the person you are dealing with is weaker or less important than you are. Some people are slow to take offense, which may make you misjudge the thickness of their skin, and fail to worry about insulting them. But should you offend their honor and their pride, they will overwhelm you with a violence that seems sudden and extreme given their slowness to anger. If you want to turn people down, it is best to do so politely and respectfully, even if you feel their request is impudent or their offer ridiculous.

The first and best way to say 'no' to anyone is, 'How am I supposed to do that?' Now the other side actually has no idea as to the number of things you've done with them at the same time. You conveyed to them you have a problem.

When boy likes you, you say no thank you. You don't kick him on the ground.

If the response you finally receive from me is 'thanks but no thanks', then please accept at face value that I would really not be the right investor for you. You've got to trust me on this, and in this case take 'no' for an answer.

You don't have to answer someone's questions. That's just how I was raised.

Somebody wanted me to autograph her breast and I kindly refused. She was in college. I thought maybe I shouldn't do that.

Some people don't realize that a straight 'No' can be the kindest answer in the world.

You cannot leave your office until you have answered every phone call from every Congressman or Senator who called you that day….Break your backside to respond fast to every request…and if you have to say no, do it gently.

Don't allow people to suck up all your time with their questions or problems. Learn to say 'no' more often.

It's been many years that I've been in this business. All of a sudden, I'm getting all of these wonderful people approaching me and asking me to work with them. It's very hard to say no when you love and respect people.

I can't get into talking about why another actor left. It has nothing to do with me.

You find, as the years go on and you have some success, people kind of start to say yes when they should say no.

Learn graceful ways of saying no and of pointing out that this pressure to do something is not in line with most people's wishes.

I never refused an autograph, never refused to buy someone a drink. Now I'm learning to say I've got other things on, instead of doing it and wondering why.

There's no law that says you have to do what your mentor suggests. And the sooner you learn how to say 'no' confidently, the easier it will be to manage these key relationships.

In Israel, if a person doesn't agree with you, she just says no. In Alabama, someone would say, 'I'll think about it.' We would take that literally. So, if you ask for a favor and someone says they'll think about it, they're really not thinking about it.