How do you say NO politely to these?

including all these circumstances, i think there is no polite way of saying no. when people want something from you, it means they will be less or more upset when you say no to them. so unless you curse or something, the conclusion will be the same. i mean a "no" is just a "no" and nothing else. actually i believe sometimes people are being more hurtful when they try to say no in a polite way. just say it and let it go, i think this is the only way to be polite.

I don’t say NO politely, there’s just no point is being polite when you are saying NO to a person. It hardly affects the person positively when inside he is seething with anger or feeling let down by your refusal. Previously I just could not say NO to anybody. I had this stupidest idea that the more people I say YES to, the more popular I would become. I ended up being exploited (I couldn’t even understand then, I was so thick!) but I thought it was part of life. It took countless NOs from ‘friends’ to wake me up from my stupor. I realised that whether you say YES or NO, people will seek help when it suits them but very few will help you in return. It best not to expect anything from anybody and also not to go out or your way to be helpful and courteous. If its close friends and relatives (even parents) I have practised the art of saying NO with a straightface. They are offended, I do care, but I stick to my refusal and after a few days or weeks, things are back to normal. With strangers and salesman too, I say NO with a straightface, but my conscience troubles me less.

It's actually my problem, I do have ahrd time saying no, even when it hurts me and would mean I have to change sched or something like that..specially to friends and people I loved. But there are few incidents wher I victoriously and graciously said NO's.. like your No. 1 scenario. "I just said sorry but I have lots of things to do right now and I really cannot accomodate you."

1) A Christian of different denomination come knocking at your door and start preaching/sharing & even invite you to their next gathering. No thank you. I have my own beliefs. 2) Your BEST friend's invitation to his/her house for a get together when you've planned the whole evening all to yourself. I'm sorry, I already made plans. (the problem with that is when they are nosy and ask what your plans are - I hate it when that happens) 3) Your best friend's partner's invitation to attend a party (because your best friend is not around). Sorry, I don't think that would look good. Or Sorry, I already have plans. 4) You're in a serious relationship with someone when your parents start talking about this girl/boy of their choice.. ...bla bla bla.. Just change the subject if you can, if not, just say I'm happy with my current partner. None of the above? OR, have you ever successfully say no politely to an invitation/offer that wasn't really of your favor? It depends on the situation. Sometimes I have trouble saying no, but sometimes it comes easy.

i always respond as honestly as i can... i say no thank you but i have different belief... same goes to your other questions... i just answer honestly and politely

I dealt with all these as well. 1) I always have to turn religious groups away. I simply tell them I belong to another religious sector and am very happy with it and I'm not interested in learning about any others. They push but then I say, I said no, thank you. And shut the door. They're the rude ones! 2)I don't think you HAVE to go if you need some downtime. Your best friend will understand if you tell her/him that you just feel the need to chill at home and you need to de-stress and plan a get together for another time. I certainly would understand if my friend said that to me. 3) Definitely a NO situation. The honestly said, "I wouldn't feel right without (best friend) there but thanks for the invite!" should suffice. 4) My parents hated my husband when I was with him (loved him after a few months though) and tried to talk me into going out with a "college boy". I just said that I was happy with Don and he was good to me, hard working, and fun to be around and someday they would see that too. They did. They liked him better than me after a while. lol. I am usually pretty good with being polite but honest when it comes to saying no. I often say no because I am busy or just don't want to and I usually tell the truth. People may not love what I say but at least they know I am not laying down a line of bull.

I don’t say NO politely, there’s just no point is being polite when you are saying NO to a person. It hardly affects the person positively when inside he is seething with anger or feeling let down by your refusal. Previously I just could not say NO to anybody. I had this stupidest idea that the more people I say YES to, the more popular I would become. I ended up being exploited (I couldn’t even understand then, I was so thick!) but I thought it was part of life. It took countless NOs from ‘friends’ to wake me up from my stupor. I realised that whether you say YES or NO, people will seek help when it suits them but very few will help you in return. It best not to expect anything from anybody and also not to go out or your way to be helpful and courteous. If its close friends and relatives (even parents) I have practised the art of saying NO with a straightface. They are offended, I do care, but I stick to my refusal and after a few days or weeks, things are back to normal. With strangers and salesman too, I say NO with a straightface, but my conscience troubles me less.

I believe in telling the truth. Just be yourself and tell them the truth that you're not interested or that you have other plans, but don't lie. It will hurt them more if they find out from other people. You don't have to please everybody. It's your right to do your own thing.

Hi singlepixel! With your #1 question, every 2 weeks there are people of different religion who comes knocking and giving some religious books and leaflets, I got used to them already that's why I politely tell them "I'm sorry I have a different religion and I am happy with it and smile at them and walk away. Bye!". I don't know if that's polite because I don't wait for them to really answer. With #2, I have refused invitations of my 3 best friends before. Called them days before the "get together", apologized that I couldn't make it (The truth is I am just lazy to go) and 2 of them didn't speak to me for several days. With #3, haven't received any. #4, never happened. LOL! Now, you be judge...was i successful to some or not? Honestly, I get guilty saying No with invitations because I don't usually say the true reason why I am refusing or declining the invitatons. Have a nice day!

In every such occasion I will simply say that I'm busy and will definitely attend the party or ceremony or talk about it another time. And if they insist then I will just tell a story about the loads of assignments my teachers have given and the punishment I'll receive if I do not submit 'em by due date..bla bla bla. I also try to act very innocent and guilty!

this requires leniency in expressing words of refusal. for me, if the invitation is also humble enough then i might go for one time, but then it depends. usually, when i get invited by people from different faiths, i end up bringing up points that they don't usually find pleasing to their ears. so sometimes i tell them that such scenario might exist so i better not go.