I have been told off on numerous occasions for informing my partner that her plans sound dull.

 Do I want to go to the local car boot sale? Do I want to go shopping for curtains? Do I want to meet up with a distant cousin for afternoon tea?

 I don’t mean it as an insult. Clearly, they don’t sound boring to her, and she is more than welcome to indulge in these activities until her heart’s content. There’s just no need to involve me.

 Unfortunately, in polite society, being unashamedly honest about what one does and does not want to do is not the done thing.

 But what about in a professional context?

 I don’t think I’ve ever told a prospective client that I’m not interested in the work because the work doesn’t interest me.

 Now, there are really good reasons why you wouldn’t want bored me, or bored anyone, working on your brief. How can we possibly be giving our best when we couldn’t care less about the subject matter? That’s not to say we will do a bad job. Rather, that we aren’t capable of doing the best job.

 I just never tell anyone this. Instead, I revert to tried-and-tested excuses, or if these don’t work, I lie through my teeth to avoid taking on the work.

 I do this because I don’t want to damage the relationship or deny myself the future possibility of more interesting work. I’m well aware that the client has money, and that many buyers can’t comprehend the idea of rejection when they’re good for their side of the transaction. So, the rejection must be reconstituted into something more palatable.

 And while it may sound daft, I also wish to avoid hurting the client’s feelings. If they’re putting their heart and soul into their job and genuinely value what their employer is doing, rejection for reasons of disinterest could be taken as a personal affront or trigger an existential crisis.

 Admittedly, these concerns perhaps say more about my own capacity to handle rejection than they do about my clients.

 It’s not good to lie to people, even if your motivations are (relatively) noble. Doubtless, were I to run a LinkedIn poll asking ‘Is honesty at work is the best policy?’, the overwhelming majority would say ‘aye’.

 Alas, it’s not for me. I can tell my other half that I’d sooner set my face on fire than visit the Royal Horticultural Gardens gift shop, but I can’t ‘fess up to my clients when their brief doesn’t do it for me. So if you’re reading this and thinking, “Hang on a sec – Tom told me he couldn’t write our report because he’s too busy retraining as a trapeze artist”, rest assured that I’m writing this during the interval and I shall be returning to the ring forthwith. Honest I will.