What about That Old Standby, “No”?
Is it ever okay simply to answer “Got a minute?” with “No”?
Of course. You get to decide, remember? If you really don’t have
a minute, “No” is the proper as well as the accurate response.
You can follow it up, as well as soften an abrupt and seemingly
insensitive response, by buying a little time (“Can I get back to
you in about half an hour?”) or by setting a specific time to talk.
That way, you’ve asserted control over your schedule, which is to
say, your life.
Note, though, that you’ve still signed a blank check; you’ve just
postdated it. You still don’t know what the conversation is about or
how long it will take, and you still don’t know if you really want or
need to have the conversation at all.
The Golden Rule Applied to Three Little Words
If you practice effective responses to “Got a minute?” long enough,
you’ll train some of your frequent interrupters to ask the right
question in the first place, a question that will supply the informa-
tion you need to answer it.
“I need about five minutes to discuss the Anderson project with
you. Is this a good time?” How about you? Is that the way you open
a conversation, or are you just as guilty of the “Got a minute?” gaff
as everyone else? Get in the practice of asking-as-you-would-be-
asked. You’ll get a lot better response.
But don’t bother trying to teach the rest of the world to practice
proper etiquette in the workplace. You’re in charge of your life, not
theirs. Besides, you probably won’t convert anybody, and the effort
won’t make you very popular.
Consider this: it may be somebody else’s fault for asking the
wrong question, but it’s your responsibility to take care of your
own time.
WAY S T O AV O I D T I M E T R A P S