“I just want an answer.”
You’ve already given one.
“I don’t know yet.”
The other person keeps talking. They explain why they need to know. You try to listen, but you’re losing track of what they’re saying. You can feel yourself getting closer to saying yes just to end the conversation.
“So?”
You almost say it.
Instead, you say, “I told you. I don’t know yet.”
They don’t like that answer. You still don’t have another one.
Someone else wanting an answer doesn’t mean you have to give one.
If you don’t know, say you don’t know. If you need time, take it. If you’re too angry to have the conversation well, stop having it. If someone is disappointed, they can be disappointed.
You don’t have to become calm enough to give someone what they want.
Sometimes staying steady means leaving the answer unanswered.