“Not yet” and “no” sound similar when you’re impatient. Learn the difference.

Impatience flattens two very different answers into one. A delay gets heard as a refusal, and people walk away from things that were still open, sometimes weeks before a yes was going to arrive. Later is not the same as never, though they feel the same at eleven at night.

Ask the question plainly instead of guessing at it. Is this a no or a not right now, and if it is the second one, when should I come back. Most people will tell you, and the answer costs you one slightly awkward sentence.