There are certain qualities which people have only recently started talking about, but which have always been essential – particularly for enjoying a stress-free working day, or at the very least, for being able to manage stress so that it doesn’t end up affecting your mental health once the worst is over. These qualities are: resilience, which we’ve already discussed in another post, and assertiveness, which we’ll explore in more detail in this one.
Would you like to learn some assertive communication techniques to improve your relationships with your colleagues and feel better about yourself? Be sure to read this article!
Let’s start by finding out what assertiveness is
Assertiveness is one of the most important social skills that will help you find balance and harmony in any situation. This quality involves standing up for your rights, ideas or interests in front of others with respect and empathy, without becoming aggressive or passive. But to help you understand the concept better, ask yourself two questions: How many times have you lost your temper whilst putting forward your point of view? And how many times have you agreed to something you didn’t want just to avoid an argument? Probably far too many.
Generally speaking, when we act impulsively, or when we meekly go along with other people’s decisions, we end up feeling bad or regretting our behaviour. To avoid such outcomes, it is best to adopt an assertive approach, which allows you to set boundaries, whilst always listening and engaging in reasonable dialogue with others.
Assertive communication techniques for getting through a work meeting
Now that you know what assertiveness is, you’ll have realised that it’s essential for coping with the day-to-day routine at work, particularly when it comes to making important decisions or when you need to communicate your ambitions or needs to your superiors. To ensure this doesn’t cause you any concern and to help you feel more confident when communicating, we’ll now look at the assertive communication techniques you can put into practice.
- Expressing your ideas clearly and straightforward, avoiding ambiguity.
- Use a respectful language and avoid offensive or aggressive language.
- Listen actively your colleagues, showing an interest and listening to their views. This will help you formulate more accurate responses.
- Analyse your own emotionsand express them appropriately, avoiding impulsive reactions.
- Agree and respect other people’s opinions and other people’s views and perspectives, even if you don’t agree with them.
- Search win-win solutions rather than imposing your own point of view or following orders you don’t agree with.
- Use «I»instead of «tú» when expressing your needs or criticisms, focus on your own experiences and feelings.
- Provides constructive feedback in an appropriate manner, highlighting positive aspects and offering suggestions for improvement.
- Learn to say «no» in a respectful manner when necessary, without feeling guilty about setting boundaries.
- Don’t underestimate the rights of others.
A key feature of assertive communication that you should bear in mind when practising it
As you’ve seen, all these techniques for communicating assertively share active listening and other key characteristics, without which you cannot develop assertiveness. Take a look at what they are and bear them in mind for your next conversations.
- Always display interest in what the other person is saying, which will substantially increase trust and a sense of closeness.
- A posture open and relaxed, as our non-verbal communication also shows our willingness to listen.
- Although The voice has different inflections During a speech, you should never overstep the usual boundaries, as otherwise you will lose credibility and make people feel uncomfortable.
- The time it takes to listen, as opposed to the the time it takes to speak, it must be fair, so as to avoid any sense of superiority or submissiveness on the part of the parties involved.
- It is important to determine how much, how and when we intervene, as well as to observe the the quality and impact of our contributions.
Remember that practising assertive communication will always be highly beneficial, as it will improve interpersonal relationships, enable conflicts to be resolved in the most satisfactory way for all parties, encourage collaborative working, and boost the self-esteem of those who practise it.
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