Assertiveness

Presented by
Binay
Bhuvan singh
Deepti Naiwal
Kashika Mehrotra
Vipul Singh
Anuja Aswal
 Introduction

Assertiveness is the ability to communicate your needs, feelings, opinions,

and beliefs in an open and honest manner without violating the rights of
others.

TO ASSERT -- To state an opinion, claim a right, or establish authority. If you

assert yourself, you behave in a way that expresses your confidence,
importance or power and earns you respect from others. - From the Oxford
English Dictionary.
 Assertive behavior includes
• Starting, changing, or ending conversations
• Sharing feelings, opinions, and experiences with others
• Making requests and asking for favors
• Refusing others' requests if they are too demanding
• Questioning rules or traditions that don't make sense or
don't seem fair
• Addressing problems or things that bother you
• Being firm so that your rights are respected
• Expressing positive emotions
• Expressing negative emotions
 Assert Yourself Regularly!
• Assertiveness is something that you develop and strengthen over time. Practicing
assertive behavior regularly and reminding yourself that you have value is an
important way to build that assertiveness.

• Review the statements below on a regular basis to remind yourself that your
thoughts and opinions are important.

– I am honest and direct about my thoughts and feelings.

– I speak up and share my views if I disagree with others' opinions.
– I am confident about my opinions and decisions.
– I can accept positive criticism and suggestions.
– I ask for help when I need it.
– I am able to turn down requests that seem unreasonable or unfair.
– I directly address things that bother me. Etc.
 How Assertiveness Can Change Your Life?
• Being more assertive can lead to a more rewarding life

• Being assertive not only improves your self-respect, but also

earns you respect from those around you.
• It leads to the Self-confidence
• Leads to better relationship with others

• Increases self-esteem
• Improve communication skills
• Improve decision-making ability
 Assertiveness

• Doesn’t just happen.

• Does not guarantee you happiness or fair
treatment.
• Will not solve all your problems
• Does not guarantee that you will get what
you want.
 Evaluate Your Assertions
• Active listening: reflecting back (paraphrasing) to the
other person both words and feelings expressed by
that person.
• Identifying your position: stating your thoughts and
feelings about the situation.
• Exploring alternative solution: brainstorming other
possibilities; rating the pros and cons; ranking the
possible solutions.
 Assertiveness training

• Assertiveness training is a form of behavior therapy designed to help people

stand up for themselves.

• Assertiveness is a response that seeks to maintain an appropriate balance

between passivity and aggression. Assertive responses promote fairness
and equality in human interactions, based on a positive sense of respect for
self and others.

• Purpose - The purpose of assertiveness training is to teach persons

appropriate strategies for identifying and acting on their desires, needs, and
opinions while remaining respectful of others. Assertiveness training is a
broad approach that can be applied to many different personal, academic,
health care, and work situations.
 Precautions
• One potential caution would be to remain within
assertive responses, rather than become aggressive
in standing up for oneself.

• Another precaution about assertiveness training is

that it should not be regarded as the equivalent of
martial arts training or similar physical self-defense
techniques.
 Assertive Techniques
• Broken Record – Be persistent and keep saying what you want over
and over again without getting angry, irritated, or loud. Stick to your
point.
• Free Information – Learn to listen to the other person and follow-up
on free information people offer about themselves. This free
information gives you something to talk about.

• Fogging – An assertive coping skill is dealing with criticism. Do not

deny any criticism and do not counter-attack with criticism of your
own.
 Cont.
• Agree with the truth – Find a statement in the criticism that is
truthful and agree with that statement.

• Negative Assertion – Assertively accepting those things that are

negative about yourself. Coping with your errors.

• Workable Compromise – When your self-respect is not in

question offer a workable compromise.
 Bibliography
• http://www.vaultedlaboratory.com/recognising-assertivp-257.html
• http://www.minddisorders.com/A-Br/Assertiveness-training.html
• http://bprao.wordpress.com
• http://www.breakoutofthebox.com/LouisianaStateAssertivenessSummary.
pdf