The Art of Saying No at Work

Everyday phrases

• fully bookedThis week I'm fully booked.
• declineDecline the task, not the person.
• boundariesPeople will respect your boundaries.

Shadow this lesson in 6 steps

1. 1Listen to the whole sentence once. Don't speak yet. Listen for the meaning and feel the rhythm; turn on the translation if you need it.
2. 2Look at the IPA and stress marks. Notice words with a yellow underline (stressed) and a dotted line (reduced); ‖ marks a breath pause.
3. 3Listen slowly and speak along. Slow down to 0.75× or 0.5×, repeat ×2, and speak softly together with the speaker.
4. 4Record and check your score. Press Record (key M) and say the whole sentence. Red sounds need fixing; struck-through words were missed.
5. 5Fix each mistake. Replay the original (R), practise the wrong words on their own, then record again until you score 80 or more.
6. 6Speak it all together. Once each sentence feels familiar, turn on Continuous play and shadow the whole passage about a second behind.