Man is a gregarious animal and hence, the interdependence of humans on each other on various occasions is an accepted fact. It is often seen that people find themselves in such situations in life that necessitate them to approach their relatives, friends or acquaintances for helps that may be of various sorts. It is the love or concern for the person seeking help that makes the other who is sought for assistance to take some extra effort and spare some time from day’s schedule to do the thing that he/she is asked for. But things do not always happen the same way. Sometimes, it becomes difficult due to various causes to agree to the request made for something. Under such circumstances, when one has to decline a request, one should be very careful to make the decline a polite one.
There may be sundry causes persuading people to refuse the requests made for different things at different times. Sometimes, the tight work schedule pursued leaves no extra time for a person to devote it for something else. Hence, under such circumstances, when one is requested for some help, the person confronts a plight. The individual then finds no other way left but to turn down the request against their wishes. On certain occasions, it also happens that the experience of earlier assistance given to the person that went unappreciated comes to the way of granting further aid to the individual asking for help. Often, the doubt that germinates in mind regarding a stranger’s integrity who is seeking for help and the fear of being swindled by them make one opt for rejecting the request made to them by the alien person.
Whatever may be the causes inducing one to decline a request, it should always be borne in mind that nothing should deter one from making the refusal a polite one. In this regard, various steps can be undertaken while rejecting a request. Such as, while declining, one can begin by expressing a sense of regret with the rightly chosen words for disagreeing to the request made. Secondly, one can give some excuses or reasons in genuine terms for not being able to do the thing that they are asked for. Lastly, for friends or close associates, a person can really express some concerns for being unable to help them, offering them some alternative solutions such as promising to come to their aid next time if he/she is asked for that then.
The above ways followed to make the decline a polite one assist to upkeep relationships. It is found that a polite decline never embarrasses the person rebuffed, whether a stranger or an acquaintance, without making them feel uncomfortable. Thereby, the relationship between the requester and the one requested for something is saved from being severed and soured and is given the chance to be pulled along the course of life.
Hence, declining a request in a polite manner can be termed as one of the skills that if adopted helps to keep life healthy without fracturing any of the relationships developed within its span.
—————- Dr. Fathema Begum
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