Sometimes you have to say “no” to someone you care about. You have to deny a child an expensive purchase they want. You have to turn down an employee who wants a promotion. Whatever it is, these scenarios are unavoidable sometimes.
Your job in this position is not to make the person feel bad for asking. Don’t shoot them down, punish them for asking, or make them feel like they don’t deserve the thing they asked for just because you can’t provide it right now. Your job is to make them feel excited about any outcome, to reinforce that you value not only who they are now, but the journey they want to be on.
You need them to feel like you also want them to get what they want, or you’re doing damage to their journey and relationship with them, which is the last thing you want. Your job isn’t to deliver disappointment. It’s to journey with them toward what they want!
The Opportunity Machine 