Assertiveness - A Key Life Skill: What Does It Mean to Be Assertive?

The Difference between Aggressive & Assertive Communication

Assertiveness is a valuable skill to have as a human being. In a world where you share your time, space, resources, and energy with many other people, it is important to know how to make your needs known among them. Whenever you express your needs or put your best interests forward, you are being an assertive person.

?Being assertive isn’t the same as being forceful or unwilling to compromise. That's Aggression. A truly assertive person knows how to express themselves in a clear manner that is also respectful of other factors, such as their current environment, the other people around them, and the situation they find themselves in.

?Assertive people also know that they will not always get their way–even if they assert themselves and their needs clearly and openly. However, they know the value of asserting themselves, even when it doesn’t result in getting exactly what they want.

?At the end of the day, an assertive person can rest easy knowing that they expressed themselves openly and honestly without leaving the situation feeling like they didn’t have their own interests in mind.

The opposite of not asserting yourself in matters is leaving a situation feeling unheard, undervalued, disrespected, and then being tortured for the next two weeks rethinking what you should have said, done, or expressed.

A good way to think of the difference between Aggressiveness and Assertiveness is:

Aggressive says: I matter, you don't.

Passive says: You matter, I don't.

Assertive says: We both Matter, not just me.

Sherisse Forrest is a Communications, DISC, and Soft Skills training consultant based in the Atlanta area. To discuss a custom presentation for your group: Schedule a free consultation here: