The exact language you need to politely escape from all sorts of irrelevant, time-wasting, or misdirected asks.

Saying no is a skill — and practising it improved our science.

Saying no is hard, but it's also essential for your sanity. Here are some templates for how to say no - so you can take back your life.

“Find a way to say YES to things” was the title of the commencement address that Eric Schmidt gave in 2012 at UC Berkeley. The former executive chairman of Google encouraged the graduates to say “yes” to trying new things. Then he told them: “‘Yes’ lets you stand out in a crowd. … Be the one everyone comes to for help, for advice, or just for fun.” While you may say graduates have such a choice of employers in this job market, of course they can say no — but they still will approach their new job with a “yes” attitude.

Practical strategies for pushing back in difficult situations.

Good things aren’t necessarily a good use of your time.

The power of saying no