Assertiveness

I gave a talk to a group of divorced and separated people this week on assertiveness. Assertive behaviour is clear, honest and direct communication which enables us to get our needs met without interfering with the rights of others.

Assertiveness is directly linked to self-esteem – let’s face it, if you act aggressively or the reverse, submissively or passively – you’re not going to feel good about yourself.

The benefits of assertive behaviour are:

• clear and unambiguous communication
• clarification of a specific situation
• avoiding misunderstandings
• you get what you want with a speedy resolution
• you don’t offend others in the process or deny their rights to their opinions
• you reinforce your self-respect and integrity

So you can see just why I try to encourage assertive behaviour in my clients. If you’d like some help in brushing up your assertiveness skills and giving and receiving criticism and praise, do get in touch and we’ll see what we can do in a very short period of time.