Assertiveness in business helps to build confidence, and in today’s world; knowing the difference between assertiveness and aggression and putting this into practice is an essential tool for progress and successful interaction in business. Assertiveness Courses teach that greater skill in the area is key to getting the best out of clients and staff alike- increasing sales, improving customer service, gaining higher productivity and coming up with new ideas for improvement. It encourages those who are lacking in confidence to become more involved and positive and to develop a resourceful presence in their business. In particular, developing assertiveness skills can help people to learn to avoid unproductive behaviour patterns and instead to focus on goals and solve problems.
Assertive people have an optimistic, approachable style of communication that is neither submissive nor aggressive and adopt a win-win approach to work relations. The basic techniques for behaving assertively can be learned without difficulty and put in to practice.
Management courses maintain that it is best to state clearly and simply what you want to happen, it helps to begin your sentence in the first person and make brief, to-the-point statements. You should speak directly- beating around the bush is no good, nor is flirting or flattery- you must get to the point. Try not to speak apologetically or aggressively because this will not gain you any respect and can result in the needs you express being ignored. If you are sure that what you are saying or doing is valid, then stand your ground.
Do not allow other people’s apparent certainty make you think you must be wrong. Express your valid feelings clearly and in good time, do not bottle things up and suddenly explode! Stay calm and don’t lose your temper, taking out your frustration on others is not helpful. Assertiveness is about two-way communication too; in being assertive you must also develop listening skills.
Assertiveness means respectfully claiming you rights as opposed to aggression, which is destructively seeking what you want. Construct your responses through active listening. When listening to somebody it is a good idea to use appropriate body language to show you are interested for example leaning forward slightly, nodding in agreement, offering emphatic assertions like “I understand”, and maintaining eye contact. The speaker then knows that they are being focused on and it enables the listener and speaker to get to the heart of the matter quickly.
Assertiveness is something that can be practised and learned using techniques that are adaptable, rather than rule set in stone.
Not everybody is expected to be self-confident and self-assured in every situation, but when submissive behaviour is affecting everyday life and a person’s success (or lack of it!) in business, then steps must be taken to change things. Luckily, becoming an assertive person is easy and simply takes a little practice and courage; this can often be achieved by taking part in Assertiveness Courses.
It is important to remember that being assertive does not mean being pushy or bossy but it is about having confidence and being positive. It is something only you can do and is worthwhile because eliminating negative aspects of your personality can be extremely personally rewarding resulting in you being happier with yourself in the long term, and of course, you will reap the benefits in your business life too.
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