Assertive communication

AssertiveCommunication
Presented to Ma'am Manal
Presented by Irfan Hafeez
Pakiza Mushtaq
Maryam Bibi

What is Assertiveness?
 Assertiveness is the ability to express yourself openly
and honestly while also reflecting a genuine concern
for others.

 Because assertiveness is based on mutual respect, it's
an effective and diplomatic communication style.
Being assertive shows that you respect yourself
because you're willing to stand up for your interests
and express your thoughts and feelings. It also
demonstrates that you're aware of the rights of
others and are willing to work on resolving conflicts.
Why assertive communication makes
sense

When confronted with difficult
situations, people can sometimes
respond passively or aggressively

 Passive person often feels inhibited, anxious, and
allows others to downgrade their value.
 If you may seem to be shy or overly easygoing. In
essence, when you're too passive, you give others the
license to disregard your wants and needs.
Assertive vs. passive behavior

 Aggressive individuals express their rights but often
on a wrong way by degradation or humiliation of
others.
 Aggressive behavior undercuts trust and mutual
respect.
Assertive vs. aggressive behavior

Assertiveness falls in between
these two responses.

 Open questions yield a lot of information because
they allow a person to explain what is most important
or interesting an encourage more elaboration.
Open Question

 Probing questions are those that relate to the topic
we want to explore further. They encourage the
speaker to flash out the details.
Probing Question

Closed vs. Open
Closed
 When did that happen?
 Was your trip successful?
 Did you like the candidate?
 Did you have a good meeting?
Open
 What led up to that?
 What did you manage to
accomplish on your trip?
 In what ways do you think that
candidate meets your needs?
 What happened at the
meeting?

 Assertive communication takes practice.
 Flexibility: Match your style of communication to the
situation/person you are communicating with.
 Skill, not personality: Communication styles are
skills, not personality styles. You can leer to become
more assertive.
 Retreat, think, return: Take a break from the
conversation. Relax/rethink and then try again.
Key Principles

 Confidence: state facts, step up to the challenge
 Clarity: easy to understand, clearly articulated
 Control: monitor your emotions, stay composed,
repeat the same message until understood (broken
record).
Remember the 3C

 Call a person by their name
 Use humor: it breaks down negative emotions and
will put tense situations at ease
 Use appropriate words:
 “excuse me”
 “thank you”
 “I appreciate it”
1 Use polite words

 Using “you” puts the other person on the defensive
 Prefer "I":
 “I think...”
 “I noticed...”
 “I didn’t like...”
 “I am concerned about”.
#2 Begin your sentences with "I"
instead of "you"

 Don’t leave the other person in the dark
 Show program
 Present facts and data, not opinions and interpretations
 Always get the facts right before you pass judgment
 Let the person know your goal or possible solution
 connect the two individuals who share the issue.
 e.g.: “I heard that John complained about Rick.” => “Have
you checked with John about this? Has he talked to Rick
about it.
3 Say what you want,

 Don’t put the person down
 Focus on their behavior when communicating
 Instead of ”You're too slow !” say “I don’t think you
are doing your share of the work.”
 Look at the in the person’s eyes
#4 Criticize the behavior, not the
person

 keep on track ,
 if other topics are introduced. Repeat the problem
back this indicates that you want to solve the original
problem first,
 You can talk about other problems later,
 Stay focused on the issue – do not get distracted,
defensive, or start justifying yourself,
 Get group validation.
5 Repeat the problem back,
articulate the issues

 For example:
 Who’s going to do what?
 Who takes the lead?
 When are they going to do it?
 Everyone needs a clear understanding:
 Answer: who, what, when, where, how much, how many
 Display strength and courage, and step up to the
challenge
 Own the results, the risks like the failure. Be honest about
it.
6 Make commitments where
appropriate

 Behaving assertively can help you:
 Gain self-confidence and self-esteem
 Understand and recognize your feelings
 Earn respect from others
 Improve communication
 Create win-win situations
 Improve your decision-making skills
 Create honest relationships
 Gain more job satisfaction
benefits of being assertive

Assertive communication

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