The truth is\u00a0that\u00a0these\u00a0difficult\u00a0messages need to be delivered,\u00a0or there could be a serious impact on the productivity of your team.\u00a0So,\u00a0try\u00a0adopting\u00a0an\u00a0assertive<\/b>\u00a0approach <\/a>(our\u00a0assertiveness course<\/a> can teach you how).\u00a0<\/span>Not the aggressive bully, or the passive doormat, but the best of both worlds. With assertiveness communication<\/a> becomes easy and much more enjoyable.<\/p>\n Walk the assertive path<\/b><\/p>\n So,\u00a0what is\u00a0assertiveness?\u00a0Peter Honey<\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/b>once said\u00a0that it\u2019s all about\u00a0rights<\/b>. In any situation, I have rights \u2013 but so do you.\u00a0When we are assertive<\/a>, we stand\u00a0up for our rights (and the\u00a0company\u2019s), whilst\u00a0respecting the rights of the other person.<\/p>\n Aggressive people stand up for their rights, but in a way that\u00a0crushes\u00a0other\u2019s rights, causing upset and offence. Careful\u00a0\u2013\u00a0if you try too hard to be assertive, you can be perceived as aggressive!<\/p>\n Passive people put the rights of others before their own. They get taken advantage of, become stressed and often explode and\u00a0then\u00a0become aggressive! It\u2019s always the quiet ones…<\/p>\n Six assertive t<\/b>echniques to try<\/b><\/p>\n Basic assertion<\/b>: simply make\u00a0a statement of\u00a0your needs, wants or beliefs. Top tip: use \u2018I\u2019 statements.\u00a0\u2018I\u2019d like to talk to you about the current project\u2019. You\u2019re putting your thoughts\u00a0out there, but not\u00a0demanding, or waiting for someone to read your mind. You say what needs to\u00a0be said.<\/p>\n Empathetic assertion<\/b>:\u00a0here we combine\u00a0empathy<\/b>\u00a0with basic assertion, e.g. \u2018I can tell you\u2019re frustrated, but let\u2019s talk this through\u2019.<\/p>\n Self<\/b>-Disclosure assertion<\/b>:\u00a0use this technique to let someone know the effect their behaviour is having on you: \u2018I find it frustrating when you interrupt me, I\u2019d appreciate it if you\u00a0let me explain\u2019.<\/p>\n Discrepancy assertion<\/b>: making someone aware that what they said they would do, and what they are actually doing,\u00a0are not the same thing. For example,\u00a0\u2018you told me the report would be ready by 4pm, but now you\u2019re saying it will be 10am tomorrow. I\u2019d like to know the reason for the delay\u2019.<\/p>\n Consequence assertion<\/b>: making someone aware of the consequences of a continued behaviour.\u00a0For example,\u00a0\u2018I want to help, but if you continue to shout and swear I will have to end this call\u2019.<\/p>\n Refusing assertively<\/b>:\u00a0assertiveness means not refusing, but negotiating.\u00a0Offer options and alternatives. Nobody said no, we just\u00a0agreed on a different yes! A yes that is mutually acceptable.<\/p>\n So,\u00a0what have we learnt? Assertiveness is\u00a0a great way to communicate<\/a>\u00a0with others. You achieve your goals, while building and strengthening relationships\u00a0and overall improving the efficiency of your communications. With assertiveness communication<\/a> becomes much easier. You are approachable; people are happy to work with you and for you.\u00a0And you\u00a0don\u2019t walk around with a head full of \u2018what if\u2019 questions, because you\u00a0say what needs to be said. All I\u2019m saying is, give yourself that chance!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 6 assertive techniques to improve your communication We interact\u00a0with people all the time\u00a0to exchange information,\u00a0and we want our\u00a0communication\u00a0to be\u00a0efficient and\u00a0well received. Where there are longstanding relationships,\u00a0we want them\u00a0to be preserved. But what if we\u00a0must\u00a0tell someone something\u00a0they don\u2019t want to hear\u00a0and we\u2019re dreading it? The truth is\u00a0that\u00a0these\u00a0difficult\u00a0messages need to be delivered,\u00a0or there could be a serious […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[638,633,636],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-professional-management","category-professional-development","category-soft-skills"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3479"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5047,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3479\/revisions\/5047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.stl-training.co.uk\/b\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ecs-1024x682.png\")