The way someone receives a small refusal tells you something their compliments cannot.

Praise is cheap and generally sincere, but it costs the giver nothing and reveals very little. A small no does. Watching how someone handles a minor inconvenience, a declined favour, or a boundary they did not want shows what happens when your interests and theirs diverge, which is the thing worth knowing about a person.

Say a small honest no early in any new relationship. Notice whether it is accepted, negotiated, or punished. Treat that reaction as more informative than a month of warm words.