Would you like to feel more confident in communicating your opinions? Or to be able to “hold your own” in a meeting? Do you want to be able to express your feelings (whether positive or negative) in an authentic way? Or do you want to curb your habit of losing control and getting angry at those who may not deserve it? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then why not throw one tiny pebble into the pond of ‘Assertiveness’ and watch the rich ripples appear?
Write the word aggressive on a piece of paper. Now list how you describe aggressive. What are the behaviors you would see displayed? Then do the same with the word assertive. Notice any difference? And, while you’re at it try the same with the word submissive.
Most people find that the descriptions of aggressive are predominately negative. Assertive on the other hand, doesn’t have that negative connotation. It is strong not weak, but in a positive way that respects both parties in the interaction.
I’d like to have you consider the notion that as a professional, you have rights. If you are denied your rights in a business development situation, you should be wondering whether or not you are sitting in front of the right person.
Your rights include getting answers to questions that tell you: Does this person/company have issues that need to be solved? Does my company have a solution to the issues? Is there a budget to address these issues? How does this client go about making a decision to take care of these issues?
Getting answers to these concerns means asking a lot of questions. To get the needed information, you will have to be assertive, but not aggressive. You will be able to qualify out the clients who are not going to or have no reason to buy so you can spend more time finding, and listening to, the ones that will.
Image courtesy of renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
You might also be interested in:
