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Assertiveness Training Exercises

This document describes three assertiveness training exercises: 1) The "Know Yourself" exercise involves drawing self-portraits and writing self-descriptions to increase self-awareness. 2) The "Assertiveness Game" roleplays passive, aggressive, and assertive behaviors to obtain cookies in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of each approach. 3) The "Practice" exercise involves roleplaying assertive responses to common uncomfortable situations through scenarios like asking for money or addressing mistakes. Practicing assertive behaviors can help make them more natural responses.

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N. Siva
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452 views

Assertiveness Training Exercises

This document describes three assertiveness training exercises: 1) The "Know Yourself" exercise involves drawing self-portraits and writing self-descriptions to increase self-awareness. 2) The "Assertiveness Game" roleplays passive, aggressive, and assertive behaviors to obtain cookies in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of each approach. 3) The "Practice" exercise involves roleplaying assertive responses to common uncomfortable situations through scenarios like asking for money or addressing mistakes. Practicing assertive behaviors can help make them more natural responses.

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N. Siva
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Assertiveness Training Exercises

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By Lisa Parris, eHow Contributing Writer
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The foundation of assertiveness training is the concept that in any situation people react in
one of three ways: passive, aggressive or assertive. Many people grasp the differences in
passive and aggressive behaviors, but they have no real concept of what assertiveness is.
People who exhibit assertive behavior stand up for themselves, using clear and direction
communication to correct a situation in which their rights are being violated, taking care not
to violate the rights of others in the process. Through assertiveness training exercises
individuals can learn what assertiveness is and how to use it in their daily life.

Know Yourself
1. The ability to be assertive, rather than aggressive or passive, comes from
understanding that as a person, you have value. This exercise can help people
understand how they seem themselves and others. Begin by handing the people in
your group a piece of paper and telling them to use the paper to draw a picture of
themselves. Remind reluctant participants that this is not an art contest. Once the self-
portraits are complete, have each person turn the paper over and write five words they
would use to accurately describe themselves. Encourage them to use the first five
words that come to mind. Once the participants have finished this task, place them in
pairs or small groups and have them show their drawings to each other. Ask them to
pay particular attention to things like how much space the drawing takes up or
whether positive or negative words were used in the description. Once they have had
a chance to look at other people's drawings, ask everyone to analyze their own work
and share any insights with the group. Then have group members post their pictures
on the wall and have everyone spend a moment writing something positive on each
picture. Conclude the exercise by redistributing the pictures and allowing members to
read the positive statements other people have written about them.

Assertiveness Game
2. Many times people do not understand the overall effect of passive, aggressive or
assertive behaviors when they are attempting to accomplish a task. This exercise
endeavours to demonstrate the differences in the three approaches. Ask your group for
a volunteer who feels he is fairly good at being assertive. Give this person a bag of
cookies. Select three other individuals from the group and take them out of the room
one at a time. Tell one person to use aggression to get a portion of the cookies, tell
another to use passive techniques to get the cookies, and then tell the third to use
assertive behavior. Set a timer for 10 minutes and signal the selected members to
begin their cookie quest. When time is up, have the group discuss the various methods
used as well as their overall effectiveness.

Practice
3. Once people have some idea of the differences between passive, aggressive and
assertive behaviors, they must work to develop assertive behavior. One of the most
effective ways to do this is through roleplaying. Spend 5 minutes practicing the use of
assertive behaviors in common situations, particularly in familiar yet uncomfortable
settings where the tendency may be to habitually respond in a different manner. For
example, envision a situation in which you have run out of cash and you must ask the
person who controls the family finances for more money. Practice requesting the
money by making a short, but clear, statement. Anticipate the most likely response
and repeat your original goal statement, but also acknowledge the other person's
feelings. No threatening, yelling, blaming, pouting, silent hostility or crying. When
you feel comfortable with that one, try imagining a situation in which a family
member or close friend owes you money and you'd like her to repay the debt. Or
envision a situation in which you have made an error in the family budget, causing a
check to bounce and your angry partner confronts you about the mistake in a public
place. Practicing assertive responses increases the likelihood of bringing about the
desired outcome in any given situation.

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