Assertiveness Skills

Assertiveness is defined as the ability to express your feelings, opinions, beliefs, and needs directly and honestly, without being aggressive. It is important to be able to do this whilst respecting your own and others feelings and rights. Assertiveness Skills are necessary to better your communication with colleagues, peers, friends and family.

As a communication style and strategy, assertiveness is distinguished from aggression and passivity. How people deal with personal boundaries (their own and those of other people) helps to distinguish between these three concepts. Passive communicators do not defend their own personal boundaries and thus allow aggressive people to negatively influence them. They are also typically not likely to risk trying to influence anyone else. Aggressive people do not respect the personal boundaries of others and thus are liable to harm others while trying to influence them. A person communicates assertively by not being afraid to speak his or her mind or trying to influence others, but doing so in a way that respects the personal boundaries of others. They are also willing to defend themselves against aggressive incursions.

What Assertiveness Skills will do for you:

• Enhance your communication skills.
• Increase your self-confidence and self-esteem.
• Help you to gain the respect of others.
• Improve your decision-making ability.

This focus unit aims to develop Assertiveness Skills by examining the following:

• Understanding Assertiveness.
• Understanding your personal assertiveness style.
• Applying assertiveness as a communication strategy.

Duration: 1 day

Cost: R1500.00 per person

Number of delegates:Minimum 10, maximum 20