"No"
The word “no” has to be one of the crummiest words in the English language. “Would you like to go to dinner sometime?” “Um, no.” “Did you get the job?” “No.” “Is there a cure?” “No.” “Will you marry me?” “No.” Did we win? “No.”
The only good thing about the word “no” is its shocking finality, its absolute clarity. There is no ambiguity about the word no at all. No, wait, scratch that. No isn’t so clear after all.
In the cat and mouse game of boy meets girl, “no” can often mean “no, absolutely not” or, “not right now” or “yes, but I’m not supposed to so, um, no, I think” and so on. For teenage boys and girls “no” is like an inkblot test designed by M.C. Escher – its meaning changes every time it shows up.
So there I was over at my local Safeway/Starbucks the other day getting a mid-afternoon latte and a brownie. (I should have “just said no” to the brownie but I digress.)
Anyway, when it came time to swipe my card, I swiped away. And as I punched in my pin number I was asked a very simple question with two possible answers: “Would you like to make a donation for breast cancer today?”
“Yes” or “No.”
I felt like a teenage girl with a cute, panting boyfriend. “No” in this case was really more like a, “maybe yes, but not right now.” But I wasn’t given that choice. It was “yes” or “no”. Which is really a bummer because I have said yes to a breast cancer donation again and again and again at that very same Safeway. But not being independently wealthy, I can’t indulge my altruistic leanings every time I am prompted. So “no” it was.
The problem is that I felt like a cheapskate. If I choose “yes” I’m a good guy, if I choose “no” well, I walk out feeling tight and a little cheap. How about if instead of “yes” and “no” the good folks who design these campaigns gave us “maybe next time”.
That way, if I decline, I’m not made to feel so small about it, and I’ve made a small promise to donate next time.
What do you think? Yes or no?
If YOU would like to make a donation to help in the fight against breast cancer, you can do so here>>
Update: From the great minds think alike department. One day later comes this post on the word “no” from Christopher S. Penn. I found it at Chris Brogan’s New Marketing Labs website, but the author is Christopher S. Penn, author of the blog Awaken Your Superhero. Here’s an excerpt from his piece called The Power of Not Yet:
There’s a little too much no out there.
No, you can’t.
No, you don’t have that.
No, that’s not affordable.
No, you’re not good enough.
No, you don’t know how to do that.
No, you can’t reach those customers.
The problem with no is in the finality of its tone. No cuts off possibility, especially inside your own head. Are you good enough to get this job? If your mind says no, then you move on – but chances are, you don’t come back, and that door of opportunity closes forever in your mind.
Read the whole post here>>
