The ability to say no is a necessity. Saying it well is an art. Few people possess the skills to do both, and the rest of us need to practice. A friend of mine recently lost her mom, so when she turned my invitation down for an event, I understood. She's said she's  been saying no a lot. She also said that if she wasn't engaged in our friendship as much, she was sorry. She was so sincere and thoughtful that it turned out to be one of the nicest no's I'd heard in a while. In contrast, … [Read more...]