A disappointing answer is easier to carry when it arrives with honest information.

What makes a no hard is rarely the no by itself. It is being left without anything to do next: no reason, no sense of whether it was close, no idea whether asking again would be pointless or welcome. Information does not remove the disappointment, but it converts it into something a person can work with rather than something to guess at.

Give the person you turn down one true sentence about why and one about what would change it. Skip the softening language that says nothing. If you are the one receiving the no, it is fair to ask what would have made a difference.