Saying No and Pushing Back (Politely)
Push back on extra work and deadlines without sounding rude.
Sorry, I'd love to, but I've got a lot on my plate at the moment.
Computer voice · not a real clip
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All 15 phrases
Soft no4
- I'd love to, but I've got a lot on my plate at the momentA soft no.
- That might be a bit trickyUsually a polite no.
- That's not really my area. Jo might be better placed to helpRedirects without refusing outright.
- I'm going to have to pass on this one, sorryA clear no, softened by 'sorry' and 'this one'.
Deadlines and workload5
- I'm not sure I'll have capacity this week. Could it wait till MondaySays no for now while offering an alternative.
- Happy to, but what would you like me to put on hold?Pushes back on your manager by making them choose.
- I can do it, just not by FridayYes to the task, no to the deadline.
- I'll be honest, I don't think that deadline's realisticFirm but polite.
- Just to flag, this could push the launch backRaises a risk early, in standard, calm office language.
Buying time3
Firm boundaries3
Check yourself15 questions
Question 1 of 15
'A lot on my plate' means:
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Picked by Talk, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Phrases
- Picked by Talk.
- How Talk picked them
- Part of Talk's themed British life packs. Talk wrote each phrase with what it really means, when to say it, what not to say instead and one quiz question. A phrase gets a moment only if Talk's spoken videos say it with the same meaning. One review picked each moment, and a second tried to reject it. This pack holds 15 phrases.
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- Talk shares this list under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Meanings and examples
- Written by Talk in plain English.
- Dictionary details
- From Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Princeton WordNet, used under the WordNet licence. WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
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