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Be Assertive Not Aggressive: The Only 3 Tips You Need

Bryce Purnell
3 min readJan 12, 2023

Are you feeling overwhelmed and undervalued in the workplace? Are you constantly questioning your authority?

If so, it may be time to learn how to be assertive rather than aggressive. Assertiveness is an important skill to have in business, as it allows you to confidently express yourself and get your point across without being overly aggressive.

Here are 3 simple tips to help you become more assertive and get ahead in business.

ASSERTIVE NOT AGGRESSIVE — written in text
IMAGE CREATED BY AUTHOR — USING WWW.CANVA.COM

Use I Statements

Being assertive means that you are able to express your needs and opinions without resorting to aggressive behavior.

One of the best ways to communicate assertively is to use “I statements”. This means using language that conveys how you feel without blaming or accusing others.

An example of an I statement would be,

“I feel frustrated when I don’t receive feedback on my work in a timely manner.”

This statement clearly expresses how the speaker feels without attacking anyone else or making assumptions about why their feedback wasn’t received in a timely manner.

Using I statements can help you become more assertive in business as it shows that you take responsibility for your feelings and needs, while also conveying that you respect the other person’s point of view.

Additionally, this type of communication encourages collaboration and encourages healthy dialogue between people.

By using I statements in the workplace, you can express yourself in a way that doesn’t come across as aggressive or intimidating.

Instead, it comes across as respectful and open-minded, which can go a long way in creating successful business relationships.

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Bryce Purnell
Bryce Purnell

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