E.B. White knew a thing or two about artfully declining an invitation. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Declining an Invitation”
Grant, you and I both get a lot of requests to do things, whether it’s blurbing a book or appearing someplace, and it’s hard to turn people down, right?
Well, here’s a great example of how to do it. This is a letter that E.B. White wrote in 1956 in response to somebody who was asking him to be on a committee.
He says, Dear Mr. Adams, thank you for your letter inviting me to join the Committee of the Arts and Sciences for Eisenhower. I must decline for secret reasons. Sincerely, E.B. White.
I am so stealing that, right? It just sounds so important. I must decline, comma, for secret reasons. And it leaves you as desirable, even more desirable the next time.
So they’re going to elevate the options, right? Right, right. But perfectly polite. Next time we want you to leave the committee.
Exactly.
877-929-9673.
