Assertive Communication

Overview

Developing productive relationships with both colleagues and customers demands a considerable amount of effort and the use of effective communication skills. Being assertive means that firstly we need to understand what it means, and secondly know how to do it.

This half day workshop examines the principles of assertiveness and assertive communication, with the opportunity to measure ourselves against the guidelines. Once this has been achieved we can then consider how to manage the potentially irrational behaviour of others and the challenges that this creates.

The style of the workshop will be participate and informal and focus on practical skills that you can immediately use in your working environment.

Pre-Workshop Preparation

Personal Objectives – please make notes on what you wish to gain from the workshop

Objectives

By the end of the workshop you will be able to:

• understand the meaning and benefits of being assertive as a preferred behaviour
• state the main areas of assertive communication
• identify the different types of behaviours and their impact on others
• adapt your behaviour to manage the responses from others
• apply communication skills as a way of managing the conversation
• use assertive communication to achieve the best result

Agenda

Setting the Scene

• Workshop Overview
• Identifying Individual Objectives

Defining Assertive Behaviour

• Rational & Irrational Behaviours
• Definition of Assertive Behaviour
• An Assertive Approach

Assertive Communication

• Skills to Support Assertive Behaviour
• Understanding Verbal & Non Verbal Communication
• Principles of Emotional Intelligence
• Managing Conversations

Working with Irrational Behaviours from Others

• Managing ‘Aggression’ from Others

Workshop Review

• Three Actions for Personal Development
• Workshop Evaluation