Assertiveness Training - The Power of Authenticity
How To Foster Genuine Communication
Emotional Intelligence
Learn assertive techniques for genuine communication by breaking old habits and developing emotional intelligence.
Supportive Methods
Generous training approach through one-to-one coaching, practical exercises, and feedback for behavioural change.
Develop Yourself
Develop your self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and assertive communication for lasting relationships.Refine your communication skills by learning to harness your emotional intelligence with one of the UK's most acclaimed management training courses.
Why Choose This Training?
More Than Just A Course Of Lectures
What gets in the way of developing and holding on to new communication skills are old habits of thinking and speaking. Even if the advice is very good the reason why it rarely sticks are the mental habits people inevitably revert to, especially under pressure.
Unlearning those old habits and internalising a more effective and lasting approach to communication needs more than a short course of lectures on how to do it.
What Makes This Training Stand Out?
What makes this training stand out is the exceptional support through one-to-one coaching sessions and continuous feedback. Changing behaviour is not an easy task as old habits are hard to break.
With a 40-year track record we can help you cultivate practical skills, and build your confidence to so you can successfully navigate real-world challenges, ensuring lasting behavioural improvements.
Testimonials
Join thousands of participants getting results
"What I love about this course is that I didn't just learn about the topic, this course is about ME. I'm confident I can reliably use my new skills, even when under pressure".
"A lesson for life! The power of effective communication is incredible when one masters the skills "listening with empathy" and "speaking assertively"
Clients We Have Worked With
Well-known companies who have used this course again and again, over many years
Course Summary
Training Objectives
This course is designed to help you develop your ability communicate with authenticity and assertiveness. You'll learn to express yourself honestly and respectfully, while actively listening and showing empathy. You'll develop you EQ, better relationships, constructive conflict resolution, increased confidence and self-esteem, and a culture of openness and honesty. It's important to understand the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness to promote respectful and authentic communication in both personal and professional settings.
Develop Your Emotional Intelligence
You will learn a set of powerful emotional intelligence communication techniques so that you can manage difficult conversations, handle challenging situations, build relationships and set firm boundaries.
Transferable Skills
The goal of this training is to equip you with the tools they need to build strong, lasting relationships in your professional life, although because these skills are so transferable many clients report vast improvements in their personal relationships as well.
Develop Skills
This is a skills development rather than just a theoretical programme, so the emphasis throughout will be on you taking turn after turn, practising your skills, while receiving feedback and coaching about your effect on others.
Repeated Practice and Feedback
In your coaching sessions you will be helped to practise dealing with the kinds of situation you find challenging, again and again, until you are confident you can do it successfully.
Video Analysis
We'll combine practical, hands-on experience with video replay and analysis and discussion of the principles involved to help you gain both skills and understanding. Special attention is paid to your individual training needs, so you can practise your skills in real-life situations that you have to handle at work.
Sustained Change
That's why as well as your place in a small group, this training includes a generous amount of private and confidential one-to-one coaching sessions online, spread over several months, ensuring an exceptional level of support. This will ensure the changes you make are sustained over a longer period of time and any obstacles are overcome. Choose between online training available worldwide, or in-person face-to-face courses in the UK.
Course Dates and Price
For a list of upcoming course dates (for online coaching and face-to-face training), the locations of the next 3-day public courses in the UK and pricing Click here.
Free Initial Session
This initial coaching session serves as an introduction to the "Skills with People" course, allowing you to understand the course's relevance and effectiveness for your specific needs before committing to it.
Learning Objectives
- Authenticity and assertiveness are crucial for effective and genuine communication.
- Assertiveness training teaches individuals to express their thoughts, feelings, and needs honestly and respectfully.
- Active listening and empathy help create an environment conducive to honest and authentic dialogue.
- Benefits of assertiveness training include improved self-awareness, emotional intelligence, better relationships, constructive conflict resolution, and increased confidence and self-esteem.
- Assertive communication sets a positive example, promoting a culture of openness, honesty, and genuine communication.
- Understanding the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness is essential for authentic, respectful communication.
- Assertiveness training can improve communication skills in both personal and professional settings.
Understanding Authenticity
Authenticity, Honesty, and Telling the Truth: The Heart of Assertiveness Training for Genuine Communication
Authenticity and assertiveness are essential components of effective communication. When combined, they lead to genuine interactions that foster trust and understanding between individuals. Here we explore the concepts of authenticity and assertiveness, the role of assertiveness training in enhancing genuine communication, and practical steps to develop these skills for improved personal and professional relationships.
The kind of assertiveness training taught here will equip you with the skills to communicate your authentic thoughts, feelings, and needs in a clear, honest, and respectful manner.
Authenticity, Honesty, and Truth-telling in Assertiveness Training
This assertiveness training emphasises the importance of being authentic, honest, and truthful in communication. Key aspects of the training include active listening. This is a significant aspect of the assertiveness training we teach is learning to listen actively and empathetically to others. This allows for a deeper understanding of others’ perspectives, emotions, and experiences. Once you are able to listen with empathy it creates an environment conducive to honesty and truth-telling, promoting authentic dialogue.
The Benefits of Assertiveness Training: Enhancing Authenticity, Honesty, and Telling the Truth
This assertiveness training course plays a pivotal role in fostering authenticity, honesty, and truth-telling in communication. By equipping you with the skills and confidence to express your genuine thoughts, feelings, and needs respectfully, this assertiveness training course can bring about a number of benefits that can enhance your personal and professional relationships.
Improved Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence
Our assertiveness training workshops encourage self-awareness by helping you recognise your emotions, values, and beliefs. By understanding your authentic thoughts, you can develop greater emotional intelligence, allowing you to communicate honestly and effectively with others. This heightened self-awareness and emotional intelligence can lead to more genuine connections and enhance overall well-being.
Often times people hesitate to say what’s really on their mind because they can’t put it into words. When teaching, I often ask if I can help by making suggestion about how I think they feel based on what I think they’re trying to say. Quite often people tell me that they hadn’t a clear idea, but the moment I suggested something they instantly recognised it as the truth. By developing your self-awareness, you’ll be quicker at identifying your own genuine thoughts and feelings. Once you have them at the tip of your tongue you’ll be better able to article them.
Cultivating Trust and Understanding in Relationships
When you learn to communicate assertively, you can express your thoughts, feelings, and needs in a clear, honest, and respectful manner. This kind of open and authentic communication builds trust and understanding between you and others, fostering stronger, more meaningful relationships in both your personal and professional settings.
This includes sharing feelings, opinions, and needs in a respectful and confident manner, fostering genuine communication. The thing that holds most people hold back from voicing their true thoughts, is their fear of being judged. On this course you’ll learn how to express yourself diplomatically, so you won’t have to worry as much about judgment or rejection.
Constructive Conflict Resolution
This assertiveness course teaches you to address conflicts and disagreements in a constructive manner that prioritises honesty and mutual respect. By expressing your genuine thoughts, feelings, and needs assertively, individuals you can work towards mutually satisfactory resolutions, preserving the integrity of your relationships and promoting genuine communication.
You’ll be helped to navigate conflicts by encouraging honest, respectful communication, and truth-telling, even in challenging situations. You’ll be able to address issues effectively while preserving the integrity of your relationships.
Boosted Confidence and Self-Esteem
As you develop your assertiveness skills, you are likely to experience increased confidence and self-esteem. By learning to express your authentic thoughts assertively, you can effectively communicate your thoughts, feelings, and needs without fear of judgment or rejection. This boost in self-confidence can lead to more genuine, fulfilling interactions with others.
Encouraging Authenticity, Honesty, and Truth-telling in Others
Assertive communication not only benefits the individual but also sets a positive example for others. By demonstrating honest, authentic communication, assertive individuals can inspire those around them to embrace these principles, leading to a culture of openness, truth-telling, and genuine communication.
The Impact of Authenticity, Honesty, and Telling the Truth on Genuine Communication
When you embrace authenticity, honesty, and truth-telling through this assertiveness training, you can experience a transformative impact on your communication with others:
Enhanced trust and understanding: By expressing your authentic thoughts and feelings honestly, you can build mutual trust and understanding with others, paving the way for deeper connections and genuine communication.
Increased confidence and self-esteem: As you learn to communicate your authentic thoughts and feelings assertively, you won’t help but engage in more effective and genuine communication, enabling you to feel increased levels of self-confidence and self-esteem
Conflict resolution and problem-solving: Honest, authentic communication allows you to address conflicts and problems more effectively, leading to resolutions that align with your values and needs. For more on this take a look at our page on conflict resolution.
Strengthened relationships: Authenticity, honesty, and truth-telling foster genuine communication, which can strengthen your personal and professional relationships, enhancing your overall satisfaction and well-being.
The Role of Assertiveness
Assertiveness is the ability to express one's feelings, opinions, and needs confidently and respectfully without being aggressive. It is crucial for effective communication and helps individuals stand up for themselves while maintaining positive relationships.
Assertiveness vs. Aggressiveness: Navigating the Fine Line for Genuine Communication
Understanding the distinction between assertiveness and aggressiveness is essential for cultivating authentic, respectful communication. While both assertiveness and aggressiveness involve standing up for oneself and expressing one's thoughts and feelings, the manner in which they are expressed and their impact on relationships and communication are markedly different.
Aggressiveness: The Barrier to Genuine Communication
In contrast, aggressiveness involves expressing one's thoughts, feelings, and needs in a confrontational, forceful, or disrespectful manner. Aggressive communication can make others feel attacked or threatened, leading to defensiveness and resistance rather than cooperation and understanding. Aggressiveness can hinder genuine communication and create tension in relationships.
The impact of aggressiveness on genuine communication includes:
- Eroding trust and understanding: Aggressive communication can damage trust and hinder understanding between individuals, impeding genuine communication.
- Straining relationships: Consistently aggressive behaviour can strain personal and professional relationships, resulting in conflict and dissatisfaction.
- Escalating conflicts: Aggressive communication often exacerbates conflicts, making it more challenging to find mutually satisfactory resolutions.
- Undermining self-esteem: Relying on aggressive communication can negatively affect one's self-esteem, as it may reflect a lack of confidence in expressing oneself in a respectful, assertive manner.
Balancing Assertiveness and Aggressiveness
To foster genuine communication, you need to strike the right balance between assertiveness and aggressiveness. This assertiveness training can help you develop the skills and confidence to express yourself authentically, without resorting to aggressive tactics that can damage your relationships and hinder genuine communication.
By understanding the differences between assertiveness and aggressiveness and embracing the principles taught on this assertiveness training course, you can navigate the fine line between the two and enhance your communication abilities. This, in turn, leads to more meaningful, authentic connections with others and a greater sense of overall well-being.
Assertiveness Training and Its Impact on Genuine Communication
Key components of assertiveness training
- Express your emotions candidly: Clearly articulate how you feel about the situation or topic (e.g., "I am quite concerned").
- Specify the subject of your feelings: Identify the specific aspect that triggers your emotions (e.g., "about the cost of your proposal").
- Explain the reason behind your feelings: Describe the rationale for your emotions (e.g., "It's well over budget").
- Pause: Allow for a brief moment of silence to let your words sink in and to encourage a response from the other person.
- State your request or desired outcome: Explicitly state what you want to achieve or expect from the other person (e.g., "I'd like you to find a way to meet the need at a lower cost").
Developing Authenticity and Assertiveness Through Training
Developing emotional intelligence
Recognising and managing emotions, as well as empathising with others, can improve one's ability to communicate authentically and assertively. You’ll need to work out how you actually feel in order to be able to tell the authentic truth. Sometimes people need a moment in order to work out how they feel. It isn’t a vocabulary issue, it’s a self-awareness issue.
Once you have spotted an emotion in yourself you’ll be much better equipped to spot it in someone else. With a skilful use of empathy other people will love it when you are able to diplomatically empathise with them. Sometime it works so successfully they’ll think you’re almost reading their mind, and they’ll melt in front of you like warm butter.
Improving communication skills
Active listening, making empathetic statements can be developed through this assertiveness training. You’ll need to be good at tuning in on other people’s wavelengths before expecting them to reciprocate and tune in on yours. It tends to work better if you go first. On this course you’ll learn exactly how.
Overcoming Challenges and Obstacles
Challenges and Obstacles in Assertiveness Training and Genuine Communication
While assertiveness training can be transformative in fostering authenticity, honesty, and truth-telling in communication, you may face several challenges and obstacles along the way. Understanding and overcoming these barriers can help you fully embrace and benefit from assertiveness training.
Fear of Rejection or Confrontation
One of the most common challenges people face when trying to adopt assertive communication is the fear of rejection or confrontation. This fear can make it difficult for individuals to express their genuine thoughts, feelings, and needs, as they worry about how others may react or perceive them. Overcoming this fear is crucial for successful assertiveness training and genuine communication. On this training we’ll show you how to word it so your concerns are less likely to be dismissed.
Social and Cultural Norms
Social and cultural norms can sometimes be barriers to adopting assertive communication. In some situations, you may feel pressure to conform to certain expectations or behaviours that conflict with your desire to speak up. Navigating these social and cultural expectations while maintaining honesty and authenticity in communication can be challenging, but doing so is essential for genuine communication.
Establishing and Maintaining Boundaries
Another challenge in assertiveness training and genuine communication is learning to establish and maintain healthy boundaries in relationships. You may struggle to set appropriate limits, either by being too passive and allowing your boundaries to be crossed or by being overly rigid and inflexible. Developing the skills to create and maintain balanced boundaries is necessary if you want to be able to foster authentic, honest communication.
Misinterpretation of Assertiveness as Aggressiveness
As previously discussed, assertiveness and aggressiveness are distinct communication styles, but they can sometimes be misinterpreted by others. You may face challenges when others perceive their assertiveness as aggressiveness, which can lead to defensiveness and resistance. Learning to communicate assertively while managing others' perceptions is crucial for successful genuine communication.
Building Emotional Resilience
Embracing assertiveness training and genuine communication can be emotionally challenging, as it involves vulnerability and the potential for uncomfortable emotions. Developing emotional resilience is vital in overcoming these challenges, allowing individuals to continue communicating authentically and honestly, even in difficult situations.
Real-World Applications
Assertiveness training in the workplace
Authentic and assertive leaders foster trust, collaboration, and teamwork among employees. By expressing your thoughts and opinions genuinely and respectfully, you can create an environment where employees feel heard and valued. This assertiveness training can be an effective tool to develop these qualities in leaders and employees alike.
Enhancing personal relationships through assertiveness training
Developing authenticity and assertiveness through training can improve family dynamics, friendships, and romantic partnerships by promoting genuine communication and understanding. Open and respectful expression of emotions, needs, and opinions can foster stronger bonds and create more fulfilling relationships.