The art of saying No

It wasn't until an absolute stranger banged a phone on me that I started to think that I should learn the art of saying 'No', a tough one for me so far. I have never practised saying no in my entire life, probably for the fear of offending/hurting people's sentiments when I am asked for a help or to run an errand for that matter.

Hey, I'm looking for a change of job. You think you can help? Hey I want to rent a house in your locality, Can you give me some leads? I'm looking for people for my company, let me know if you have any contacts. You think you can finish this task before the deadline?

These and many more such requests / questions invariably receive an 'of course I can' reply from me. I tend to forget the whole thing of promise right after. Or in some instances I genuinely try and fail to follow up that leads to zero results. Nothing sucks as bad as breaking a promise or doing absolutely nothing about to fulfill the same and the strangest thing is that I'm absolutely aware of that.

However, it dawned on me recently – thanks to the wisdom of a telemarketing female – that I should start saying no. I usually do not attend calls from unknown numbers for fear of wasting time mostly or just to avoid those annoying calls trying to sell a holiday package, credit card or a club membership. I had a girl calling me recently asking me to enroll in their club. In an attempt to avoid her, I told her I was busy and that she could call me back at a later time (I sure have missed my chance of saying No at this point). She dutifully called me 'at a later time' on the same day evening and started explaining the benefits I enjoy if I were to join the club.

After a while, when I couldn't stand it anymore I told her that I was not interested in any club memberships. She could've thanked me before ending the conversation. But, she rather preferred to question me as to why I did not tell her at the first place if it was not of any interest to me before banging the phone on me.

Fair enough! I wasn't angry or upset. It suddenly dawned on me that it was my fault. Had I told 'No' I would've saved some time for her and a little invisible embarrassment for me.

Sometimes strangers teach lesson too.