Vanessa Patrick, Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Marketing at the University of Houston, discusses how to feel empowered while saying no with our president, Steve Gilman.
Think back to a time you said yes to a request — do you wish you said no instead? Whether it’s peer pressure or people-pleasing tendencies, sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we answer how we think others want us to instead of considering our own feelings. Vanessa’s new book, The Power of Saying No, is here to help reshape that mindset.
In this episode of Brand Story, we sit down with Vanessa to talk about the art of empowered refusal. She explains how an empowered no is not a rejection, but rather a statement about oneself that stems from your identity. Her way of categorizing requests on a scale of “pass the salt” to “bake your famous lasagna” provides a unique perspective on how we prioritize asks, so we can feel confident in saying no.
