Q & A Table of Contents
How To Be Assertive
From: Stuti, Blore, India
Question: How can one be assertive effectively in personal and professional life?
Response: The most effective way to build up your confidence and thus enable yourself to feel comfortable asserting your ideas is to be well-prepared. Before you enter into negotiation or other joint decision-making activities, think about your own interests and what you assume to be the interests of others with a stake in the outcome.
This preparation process, which is characterized as an Interest MapŠ, gives you a question-focused strategy. You are more likely to catch people's attention and influence their decisions if you have asked questions and listened to their answers than if you boldly make your points as if those are the only answers that make sense.
Be prepared and you will feel more confident. Think about what sorts of surprises or traps may be out there before you go forward; then they will not be surprises and you will retain your confidence.
Good luck,
Steve
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