One of the standards of the social contract is giving your word. If you say you will do something or be some where, the only polite response is to keep your word.
If something unexpected happens, you call and let them know that you are delayed or unavoidably detained.
Otherwise, if you said you will be there for dinner at 7, then you should be there for dinner at 7.
If you said you would bake those cookies or get someone at the airport, then that is what you should do.
Keep your word. Never make a promise you do not intend to keep.
If you must break your word, you should offer apologies and if possible, an alternative.
You may think that being polite means you always have to agree to things even if you have no intention of following through. That politeness leads to broken promises. That is not accurate. This is where vagueness comes in. The appropriate polite response is to give a vague answer if you can not or will not commit to specifics.
"We should get together sometime" is not the same as "Let's do dinner on Tuesday." One is a polite response that leaves you open to check your schedule or keep your distance. The other is a specific commitment.
Make sure you are not creating hard feelings by making promises you have no intention of following through on. Be polite and be a person of your word. It is possible to be both.
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