The British have a special way of saying “no” extremely politely. One thing to remember when doing business in English, is to soften your “no’s” carefully.

You still need to say no, but there are ways in which you can say no very softly. Most accepted ways of doing this involve saying that you “can’t” rather than you don’t want to, that you are “sorry” of “afraid” you cannot do something, it is “unfortunate”, and you are not “able” or “authorised” to do something. You should then give a reason. To some people this may sound like an opportunity to argue over the reasons, but most English people will recognise this is not debatable.

• “I am sorry I can’t attend the meeting on Friday (reason)”

• “What a shame, I’m afraid I can’t have your report ready for tomorrow (reason)” (Be careful to sound sincere, “what a shame” can sound sarcastic if delivered with a smile)

• “I would love to, but I have a high priority report to complete first”

• “I’m afraid I can’t do that (reason)”

• “Unfortunately, that is against our policy”

• “Unfortunately, I am not authorised to do that”

• “I’m sorry but that’s not something I am going to be able to do for you”

• “I’m afraid that won’t be possible”

When learning phrases, try to avoid learning them exactly. To be much more flexible and advanced in your Business English, learn the parts you need (apology/regret, I can’t/I’m not allowed, reason), and put together a response you have made yourself. This is more authentically you.