This page gives details for our one day Assertiveness Skills Course.
We provide this one day course as an on-site course - tailored to your business, and as a public course. Click here for in-company course pricing.
For details of our two day Assertiveness course, click here.
To view this information in a printable pdf brochure, please click here.
Introduction
Do you ever find that:
- It is easier to say ‘yes’ than ‘no’ to requests from colleagues, just to ‘keep the peace’?
- You keep quiet about issues that are bothering you even though you are justified in
feeling frustrated?
- Occasionally this pent up frustration leads you to behave in ways that you regret
afterwards - For example being irritable or even aggressive towards colleagues?
- You are unsure of how to react when people around you are behaving aggressively?
This course will help you to assert yourself - in other words to get your message across in a clear and confident manner. It will also help you to say no when necessary in a way that does not offend others and to manage conflict effectively.
Course Structure
This one day workshop is full of examples and provides opportunities for you to discuss and practice how to deal with potentially difficult situations.
We ask attendees to bring details of real life situations and conflicts where assertiveness skills might have a role to play.
During the course we will provide you with:
- A copy of all the course slides
- An action based workbook which after the course can be used as a reference book on what you have learned.
- An assertiveness “checklist”
- A framework to develop your own action plan for use after the course.
All delegates are also entitled to six months telephone and email support at no additional charge.
Course Aims
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- Recognise passive, aggressive and assertive behaviour in yourself and others
- Use a range of methods for managing different types of behaviour
You will learn:
- The difference between confidence, assertiveness and aggression
- How to behave assertively when others behave aggressively
- What level of assertive response to use according to the situation
- How to listen and question effectively
- How to say “No”
- How to handle provocation, intimidation or conflict constructively
- When and how to compromise on key issues
List of course sessions
The course is divided into 5 sessions :
Read on for more details on each session...
Detailed course schedule
Session 1: What is assertiveness
This section will help you to
- Recognise assertive behavior
- Distinguish between assertiveness, aggression and non-assertiveness
Session 2: Communication styles
This session introduces the different ways that we all communicate.
We each have a particular way of viewing things and this affects how we act and communicate.
Take, for instance, Health & Safety rules. Some people may need to understand why Health & Safety rules have been devised in a certain way. Others are more practical and may simply want to know what the rules say so they can follow them.
We use the term “communication style” to summarise:
- The way we view things
- The way we act
- The way we communicate
To communicate assertively, it helps if you can recognise the communication style of the person you are talking to.
To get your message across, it is important to adopt his or her style, not yours
This is harder than it might appear! All of us tend to communicate in a way that suits our style, rather than that of the other person.
This section will help you:
- Understand your own style using self-assessment questionnaires we provide in the course
- Adapt your style to that of the person who you are communicating with
Session 3: Verbal and non verbal communication
Language is a powerful tool for conveying messages - the ones we intend to convey and those that we do not!
In this session we look at the phrases, words and clichés that people use when conveying a message.
This session will help you to:
- Use language and tone of voice to the best effect
- Use appropriate body language, or non-verbal communication
- Listen actively
Session 4: The art of saying "no"
Saying ‘no’ to a request from a colleague can seem quite daunting. It is this fear that leads people to say ‘yes’ to something that they are well within their rights to say ‘no’ to. Doing this, however, can lead to resentment. This can cause misery, irritability and sometimes aggression, and cause a breakdown in working relationships.
We will help you to see ways of saying "no" to requests in a way that does not cause offence.
Session 5: Handling difficult behavior
You may be attending this course so you can improve working relationships with people you find “difficult”.
In this session we will help you see ways to :
-
Build rapport
-
Question your assumptions about the other person
-
Handle conflict
-
Handle aggressive behaviour
-
Handle people who are not sufficiently assertive
