Saying “I’ll think about it” and then actually thinking about it is a real answer.

Delay is only a dodge when nothing happens during it. Taking time to decide, and genuinely using that time, is a complete answer and usually a better one than a yes blurted out to end the discomfort. The phrase has a bad name because it so often works as a soft no. Used honestly, it is simply how thinking goes.

When you use it, give yourself a real deadline and come back by then. Say what you decided without a long preamble, even when the answer is no.