Introduction to Assertiveness Skills

It is very important for you to develop ‘assertiveness skills’ and practice being ‘assertive’ in your interactions with everyone.  Assertiveness is the ability to communicate your needs, feelings, opinions, and beliefs in an open and honest manner without violating the rights of others. Assertiveness Training or ‘AT’ was introduced by Andrew Salter in the year 1961 and popularized by Joseph Wolpe. Wolpe believed that a person could not be both assertive and anxious at the same time. So, when a person becomes assertive, he would not suffer from unnecessary anxiety.  Positive affirmations play an important role in developing self-confidence and becoming assertive. Only when you are confident about yourself can you become an assertive person. It is crucial that you use powerful affirmations daily and affirm to yourself of the good things that you have to offer as a person to this world. There are various positive affirmations that you can use at your workplace to improve yourself as a professional and develop better relationships at the workplace. Some of these affirmations may appeal to you, others may not. It is important that you develop a set for yourself that best suits your personal characteristics and behavior.  There are various positive affirmations that you can use to improve yourself as a person and develop a better attitude towards your life. Some of these affirmations may appeal to you, others may not.  It is important that you develop a set for yourself that best suits your personal characteristics and behavior.  A ‘soft assertion’ is a kind of statement that does not require any action or anything of the listener. A ‘basic assertion’ is more of a simple statement conveying what you want out of a situation. Simplicity is the key to this kind of assertion. An ‘empathetic assertion’ is the most effective type of assertion one can make. In such an assertion, you try to understand how the other person may feel.