Being assertive is not the same as being aggressive, on the contrary, assertiveness means standing up for what you believe.

Assertiveness is expressing your thoughts, emotions, beliefs and opinions in an honest and appropriate way. As assertiveness should be encouraged it is also important to remember that we should always respect the thoughts, feelings, opinions and beliefs of others.

There are many assertiveness techniques and examples on line.

2 Key techniques that can help you with your assertiveness are known as “fogging” and the “stuck record” technique.

1. Fogging is a useful technique if people are behaving in a manipulative or aggressive way. Rather than arguing back, fogging aims to give a calm response whilst at the same time not agreeing to meet demands.
2. The stuck record technique involves repeating what you want, time and time again, without raising the tone of your voice, becoming angry, irritated or involved in any other issues.

At the end of this module there are some links to videos in order to help you become more assertive and develop assertive communication techniques