Being assertive is a core communication skill. Assertiveness can help you express yourself effectively and stand up for your point of view, while also respecting the rights and beliefs of others. Being assertive can also help boost your self-esteem and earn others' respect. Assertiveness is a skill regularly referred to in social and communication skills training. Being assertive means being able to stand up for your own or other people's rights in a calm and positive way, without being either aggressive or passively accepting 'wrong'.

Assertive people tend to have the following characteristics: They feel free to express their feelings, thoughts, and desires. They are "also able to initiate and maintain comfortable relationships with [other] people" They know their rights. They have control over their anger. So, how assertive are you? In order to know if we are sufficiently assertive, we should ask ourselves if we have a problem with asking for help when we need it, do we express anger and dissatisfaction in an adequate way, do we openly say when we disagree with the opinions of other people, do we present our own ideas and thoughts without hesitation, do we say “no” loud and clear? If the answer to all of this is NO, then look no further, and congratulations.

If you are not that sure, keep on reading, we prepared a few tricks you will find useful. A sense of personal value is crucial for assertive behavior because exactly that is what gives us the feeling we deserve our rights. And with that attitude, we will fight for what is rightfully ours. Mind you, this is not a call into battle. An assertive person tries as hard as possible to avoid any conflict whatsoever. A characteristic of healthy interpersonal relationships is not the complete absence of conflict. What can seriously distort the quality of the relationship is a great number of unresolved conflicts and inadequate methods used in conflict resolution. If we want to be more assertive, it is necessary to try to be as direct, honest, and open as possible in terms of how we feel, what we think, and what we want. All reasonable requests should be made in a direct and confident way without hesitation or apology. We must not, at any cause, dismiss the ideas and values of others.

Try hard to put yourself in their shoes and to think about people’s motives and reasons for a certain behavior towards you or anybody else.