Talks at Twelve Saying “No” is hard. By refusing a request—e.g., a request for help, a romantic advance—one risks offending and embarrassing the requester. Consequently, people regularly agree to things—even things they would rather not do—to avoid the discomfort of saying “no.” Yet when we do not ourselves face the immediate prospect of saying “no,” we discount the power of these concerns. Bohns will demonstrate how this tendency to underestimate the ways in which discomfort drives compliance leads people to…