The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when Someone asked for your time, a favor, a meeting or extra work, and you need to decline clearly without sounding cold or leaving the door half open.
- {{requester}}
- {{request}}
- {{relationship}}
- {{reason}}
- {{alternative}}
- {{channel}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Write a short message declining the request below. I want to say no clearly and keep a good relationship with {{requester}}. The request: """ {{request}} """ My relationship to them: {{relationship}} Why I am saying no (for your reference; share only the parts I mark as shareable): {{reason}} What I can offer instead, if anything: {{alternative}} Channel: {{channel}} How to write it: - Say no in the first two sentences. Make it a clear no, not "maybe later" or "let me think about it", unless I listed an alternative. - Give a brief, honest reason only if I marked one as shareable. Otherwise no reason is needed. - If there is an alternative, offer it once, with what it involves. Do not offer anything I did not list. - 50 to 120 words, warm but plain, the way a busy professional writes to someone they respect. - Format it as one or two short paragraphs of plain text, with no bullet points. - Match the channel: for example, a chat message can drop the greeting and the sign-off. Avoid over-apologizing, more than one "sorry", flattery, and invented excuses or commitments, such as promising to help "next time". If it is unclear exactly what is being asked, write the draft for the most likely reading and say so in one line above it.
Variables
- {{requester}}
- Who asked, by name or role.
- {{request}}
- Their message, or a description of what they asked for.
- {{relationship}}
- For example "my manager's peer", "a long-time client" or "a former colleague".
- {{reason}}
- Your real reason, marking which part you are happy to share.
- {{alternative}}
- A smaller thing you can offer, a referral, or "nothing".
- {{channel}}
- Email, chat or text.
Why it works
- What good looks like. The no comes in the first two sentences and stays a no, which is kinder than a vague reply that leads to another round of asking.
- What to avoid. Only reasons you marked as shareable go in, and no alternative or future favor you did not offer, so the message never commits you to something new.
- Who it's for. Naming your relationship to the person sets how warm and how formal the decline should be.