{"id":16781,"date":"2024-06-04T08:36:43","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T06:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mrctraining.com\/whats-happening-with-assertiveness\/"},"modified":"2024-06-04T08:36:43","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T06:36:43","slug":"whats-happening-with-assertiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrctraining.com\/en\/whats-happening-with-assertiveness\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Happening with Assertiveness?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Article written by @Alejandro Montealegre, <\/a>Training Director at MRC International People Training.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to share something I often encounter in trainings with outstanding professionals when we work on assertiveness: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Generally speaking, most of us are quite lost about what it is and how to use it. From a young age, we hear a lot about empathy, but far less\u2014if anything\u2014about assertiveness. Yet it\u2019s a fundamental communication tool. <\/span><\/p>\n

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When I ask in sessions what assertive communication is, someone usually says it means standing your ground. And that\u2019s good\u2014of course it involves expressing your opinion. The key is that this isn\u2019t the whole picture; there\u2019s a final clause we tend to forget\u2026<\/p>\n

The RAE (Spanish Royal Academy) adds a second part: \u201cwhile respecting others\u2019 ideas.\u201d <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I define assertiveness as the ability to say what I think or feel without offending the other person. In a world full of people who feel offended, that\u2019s quite a challenge. <\/span><\/p>\n

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What usually happens? We confuse being firm with being assertive because we forget that final, crucial part. We state our view without acknowledging that the other person has theirs\u2014and thank goodness we don\u2019t all think alike. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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As Johann Hari explains so well in Stolen Focus, communication has turned into a series of monologues in which we\u2019re simply waiting for the other person to stop talking so we can speak\u2014over and over again.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Assertiveness is that middle ground between attack and defense that enables me to: <\/span><\/p>\n