Assertive communication

Assertiveness is the feature of a person to express a point of view easily, without anxiety and without denying other’s opinions.

It’s an ability that can be learned, we aren’t born with it. Naturally, we communicate and act in two ways: passively and aggressively.

source

A passive behavior is when your attitude towards others determine you to feel misfit, guilty and full of regret.

On the other hand, there’s the aggressive behavior, and it’s signs are anger and the feeling that you’re always criticized by others.

Both of these behaviors can be decreased and replaced in time with an assertive type of communication, and it’s result will be more positive interactions with others.

By adopting this kind of communication, you will feel better and you will improve your self-esteem. Here’s what you have to do.

“Build” your rights and teach others to respect them. What’s really important is that you also have to respect theirs. The rights I’m talking about are the right to make a mistake, to change our minds, to choose based on our priorities, to say “No”, “I don’t know” or “I don’t care”, the right to choose our friends or to change them and the right to refuse to explain ourselves for our lifestyle.

Accept yourself for what you are. You should have realistic expectations from yourself and to value yourself as a human being. Learn when to be firm and when to be more accepting. Nothing is just black and white, so find a balance that will satisfy you.

You can have a conversation with someone that has a different point of view than yours, without any of you dropping his/her opinion. Let’s agree to disagree!

Take responsibility for what you do and what you say. Try to express your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and opinions in an honest and adequate way.
Be careful not to insult anyone. After all, assertiveness isn’t about saying everything that crosses your mind without thinking about how others might feel.

And lastly, as I said before in previous posts, a feature of an assertive type of communication is learning to say “no” without feeling guilty.

---

I am on the way to Elba Island, Italy, let me know if you want me to post some photos.

Thank you!