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MS-06 — Hard Notes: a No, a Complaint, an Apology

Academy · The Message You Still Send · Optional · 20 minutes · After one easy send

Never type or paste these into a chat

Use stand-ins: [Landlord], [Teacher], [Kid A], [my street].

🛑 1 — Health

No symptoms, medicines, or test results. Write questions on paper. Emergency: 911.

🛑 2 — Today’s price

Read the shelf tag, store page, or call.

🛑 3 — Rules and law

Use the real page or office. Court, eviction, custody, immigration: lawyer or legal aid.

🛑 4 — Tax, benefits, scams

No tax, benefit, SSN, or income details. Password, code, gift card, wire, crypto, or bot-money promise: stop.

Redo the stop check

If any box does not fit, stop. Do not use the chat.

1. Filled example

Help me say no politely to a request. Firm but friendly. No excuses I did not give.
Plain words, 3 short lines.
---
i cant run the bake sale this year, too much going on, happy to bake one tray
---

Good short answer:
Thanks for thinking of me for the bake sale.
I can’t run it this year, but I’m happy to bake one tray.
Let me know what day you need it.

Your answer will be worded differently. Check for a clear no, the one offer you made, and no invented excuse.

2. Half-filled practice

Kind: apology

Rough words: sorry i missed the meeting, i wrote the wrong day down, can we talk friday

Ask to use: Plain words, 3 short lines. No excuse I did not give. Firm but friendly. No threats.

Draft:

3. My hard note

Kind: □ No □ Complaint □ Apology

One thing:

Rough words:

Success check

Brake card: If this needs “the law says,” stop · Close the chat and finish by hand · You do not owe anyone a perfect message · Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+T restores a tab · Log out if shared · Private detail pasted? Delete the chat and tell a person · Two honest tries? Stop and book a human.