How to Reject Someone ‘Nicely’

July 24, 2016

Sometimes you have to face rejection; other times you have to be the one to reject. Rejecting someone is a difficult task, especially because there are a lot of feelings involved and you have to tread lightly to make sure no one gets hurt in the process. If you follow these tips, they’ll surely ease this unpleasant task.

1. Be honest

You have to tell them right out that you don’t feel the same way. If someone is interested in you and you’re not, you just have to let them know in the most frank way possible.

2. But not too honest

Honesty is the best policy, but when it comes at the cost of hurting someone, honesty might be unnecessary. Find a way to be truthful with them without being blunt. If you want them to leave you alone, a message that reads: “LEAVE ME ALONE” in all-caps might not be a good idea, despite it conveying how you truly feel.

3. Do not invalidate how they feel

Letting people know that you don’t feel the same way is one thing, but letting them know that their feelings aren’t right is a whole different story. If someone says that they love you and you don’t share that feeling, you have no right to tell them they don’t love you.

4. Apologize

If in some way they do end up feeling hurt by what you’ve said, then an apology wouldn’t make things worse. In fact, it would let the person know that you’re not completely heartless when you reject them.

5. Give them their space

If your friend has declared their love for you and you didn’t share that feeling, you shouldn’t really go and pull their heartstrings the next day by talking about your date or how you want to get back with your ex. Give them time to adjust to this situation.

6. Let them know it’s going to be okay

Imagine you told someone how you feel in the hopes that they would reciprocate how you feel, but instead they didn’t. Now, all you feel is bad and on top of it there’s probably some awkwardness there as well. The first thing you’ll need is some reassurance that everything is going to be fine. So be sure to give reassurance whenever possible.