The Encyclopedia of Business Letters, Faxes, and E-Mail won once. So, you are embarrassing me terribly. If you don't stop, I'll have no choice but to tell everyone you steal all my best ideas and the awards really belong to me (although, of course, it's more the other way around!). Seriously, congratulations again on this important honor. You are the only six-time EGGY winner I know. You should feel proud. Sincerely, Declining requests and invitations Unfortunately, sometimes it's necessary to say no to colleagues who ask you to do something. Refusal of a request Background: A polite letter goes a long way in helping people understand why you can't comply with a request. The reason is usually lack of time. The reader understands and readily accepts this because he or she also suffers the same problem.