Developing your

assertiveness skills
workbook
How to build your confidence and assertiveness to handle difficult
situations and people successfully. Increase your self esteem. Communicate
your feelings and ideas and achieve your goals.

A Skills Training Course.

Published by: Universe of Learning Ltd, reg. number 6485477, Lancashire, UK
[Link], support@[Link]
Copyright © 2013 by Deborah Dalley.
The moral right of this author has been asserted.
First Published 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced either electronically or on paper
without permission in writing from the publisher, except for passages of less than 500 words
for purposes of review.
Skills Training Course, Universe of Learning and UoLearn are trademarks of Universe of
Learning Ltd.

Photographs © [Link]
Edited by Dr Margaret Greenhall.
The publisher and author assume no liability for any loss or damage, personal or otherwise
which is directly or indirectly caused by the application of any of the contents of this book.
This is the workbook for the book developing your assertiveness skills. It is available as printed, kindle
and printable pdf versions. To buy a copy please follow the links:
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 Chapter 1:What is Assertive Behavior?
*** Exercise – How do you behave? ***
This exercise will help you to identify your behavior patterns - look at the following questions
and tick any that you think describe your behavior. Thinking about your current behavior, tick
a statement if you agree with it more than you disagree with it.
Behavior 99
1 Do you tend to keep people waiting for you? ‰‰
2 Can you express your feelings openly and honestly? ‰‰
3 Do you apologize for things that are not your responsibility? ‰‰
4 Do you find it hard to highlight poor service? ‰‰
5 Do you often get into arguments? ‰‰
6 Do you regularly use sarcasm to make a point? ‰‰
7 Do you find it easy to admit that you have made a mistake? ‰‰
8 Do you get bad service corrected without making a fuss? ‰‰
9 Do you find it difficult to accept compliments? ‰‰
10 Do you gossip about people? ‰‰
11 Do you find it difficult to accept criticism? ‰‰
12 Do you let the other person finish before you begin speaking? ‰‰
13 Do you withhold information from people? ‰‰
14 Are you quick to blame yourself when things go wrong? ‰‰
15 Do you find it hard to ‘back down’? ‰‰
16 Do you sometimes refuse to talk to someone for a while if they have upset you? ‰‰
17 Do you look for common ground in arguments? ‰‰
18 Do you tend to talk more than you listen? ‰‰
19 Do you feel that you have to make an excuse if you turn down an invitation? ‰‰
20 Do you often find that you pretend to listen when you are waiting to speak? ‰‰
21 Do you often find yourself going along with something when you don’t want to? ‰‰
22 Can you usually resolve personal differences without damaging the relationship? ‰‰
23 Do you sometimes appear to co-operate but then undermine progress behind the ‰‰
scenes?
24 Do you avoid conflict? ‰‰
25 Do you find it difficult to ‘suffer fools gladly’? ‰‰
26 Do you agree with things in meetings or during conversations and then complain about ‰‰
them afterwards?
27 Do you find it easy to tell people what you want without sounding harsh or abrupt? ‰‰
28 Do you try to listen and understand other people’s points of view even if they are quite ‰‰
different to yours?
29 Do you ever praise or flatter someone to get them to do what you want? ‰‰
30 Are you quick to blame others when something goes wrong? ‰‰
31 Do you find it difficult to express your feelings? ‰‰
32 Do you often step in and make decisions for other people? ‰‰
33 Do you usually have confidence in your own judgement? ‰‰
34 Do you often avoid people or situations for fear of embarrassment? ‰‰
35 Do you usually think you have the right answer? ‰‰
36 Do you sometimes send messages by email or text that you know you would not say to ‰‰
someone’s face?

2
The questions are linked to each behavior type - circle the question numbers that you ticked.
High level aggression 5 11 15 18 20 25 30 32 35
Low level aggression 1 6 10 13 16 23 26 29 36
Submissive 3 4 9 14 19 21 24 31 34
Assertive 2 7 8 12 17 22 27 28 33

Are you predominately behaving in one manner or have the questions shown a range of
behaviors?
What are your thoughts about this?

*** End of Exercise ***

3
Recognizing the four behaviors
As well as thinking about your own behavior, it is also important to observe the way other
people behave. The next exercise will help you to identify the four forms of behavior. Solutions
are given at the end of the exercise.
*** Exercise – Recognizing behaviors ***

In each of the following scenarios there is a description of a situation and then four possible
responses. Look at each response and state whether it is high level aggression, low level
aggression, submissive or assertive.
Example:
You want to take this Friday off work because you have been offered tickets to an event you
would really like to go to. You need to ask your manager if you can have the day off as leave.
Response Behavior

A Would it be possible for me to take leave on Assertive

Friday? I appreciate it is short notice, however, I’ve [This is a clear direct request
been offered tickets for a concert which I would explanation because it is short
really like to go to. notice.]

B I won’t be in on Friday. I’m taking leave. High level aggression

[This is abrupt and takes no
account of the other person’s point
of view.]
C Hi, I’m really sorry to bother you, I know you are Submissive
busy. I was wondering whether there was any [This is very apologetic and the
chance I could have Friday off - do say if it’s a language is non-assertive.]
problem.

D Can I ask a really big favor? I’m in a real dilemma. I Low Level aggression
need Friday off work. I know we are supposed to [The language is very exaggerated
give a week’s notice but Clare didn’t last month and the final comment is
so I was hoping you could possibly bend the rules manipulative.]
again.
Situation 1:
You and your partner have just bought a new tent – it cost a lot of money and you have only
used it once. A friend asks if she and her boyfriend can borrow it next weekend to go to a
festival – you really do not want to lend it to them.
Response Behavior
A Well the thing is it cost a lot of money and we
have only used it once and I am not sure if we
need it that weekend.
B You are joking I wouldn’t trust you
with a £500 tent at a festival!

C I am sorry, no – we have decided that we are

not going to lend it to anyone.

D I think it is a bit unfair of you to ask, you

know we have only just bought it how would
you feel if someone asked you to borrow
something like that?

Situation 2:
Your partner has forgotten your birthday.
Response Behavior
A Remind him or her and suggest going out for
a meal to celebrate.

B Sulk until he or she asks you what is wrong

and then say ‘Nothing’.

C Carry on as though everything is fine but feel

hurt.

D Shout at them

5
Situation 3:
You are in the cinema and the group that are sitting behind you keep talking and laughing
and they are spoiling your enjoyment of the film.
Response Behavior
A Turn round and tell them to shut up.

B Ask them to keep the noise down because you

are trying to listen.

C Keep turning round and glaring at them.

D Say nothing and feel really annoyed.

Situation 4
You are in a meeting at work and your manager suggests a new way of doing something that
you are not convinced will work.
Response Behavior
A Keep quiet in the meeting and afterwards
moan to your colleagues.

B Say in the meeting ‘Well obviously that won’t

work; it’s a stupid idea.’

C Not say anything in the meeting or after.

D During the meeting outline your concerns and

ask others what their views are.

6
Situation 5
You have been served lukewarm food in a restaurant.
Response Behavior
A Call the waiter over and explain that the food is
not as hot as you would expect it to be and ask
him or her to bring you another one.

B Call the waiter over and say ‘If I had wanted

cold food I would have ordered a salad – this is
completely unacceptable - get it sorted’.

C Say nothing, eat the food and feel

disappointed that it was not as good as you
had hoped.

D Complain to the people at your table in a loud

voice and hope the waiter/waitress overhears.

Situation A B C D
1 Submissive High level Assertive Low level
aggression aggression
2 Assertive Low level Submissive High level
aggression aggression
3 High level Assertive Low level Submissive
aggression aggression
4 Low level High level Submissive Assertive
aggression aggression
5 Assertive High level Submissive Low level
aggression aggression

How easy did you find it to recognize the different forms of behavior?

*** End of Exercise ***

7
 *** Exercise – Behavior action plan ***

After reading this chapter you will hopefully have a better understanding of the four forms of
behavior.

Spend a few minutes thinking about any of the aggressive or submissive behaviors that you
would like to stop using.
I would like to stop……..

Now spend a few minutes identifying any of the assertive behaviors that you would like to
start using more.

I would like to start…

*** End of Exercise ***

8
 Chapter Two: Self-Confidence

*** Exercise - Where do you need to do the work? ***

The list below is divided into people and situations – as you look down the list tick the ones
that you would like to work on.
People with whom I would like to behave more assertively:
‰‰ Manager
‰‰ Figures of authority
‰‰ Parents
‰‰ Children
‰‰ Partner
‰‰ Friends
‰‰ Colleagues
‰‰ Members of staff
‰‰ Siblings
‰‰ Other relatives
‰‰ Strangers
‰‰ Neighbors
‰‰ High pressure sales people
List any others here:

Situations in which I would like to behave more assertively:

‰‰ Meetings
‰‰ Restaurants / shops
‰‰ Unfamiliar places
‰‰ Large social groups
‰‰ Family gatherings
‰‰ Interviews
‰‰ Presentations
List any others here:

*** End of Exercise ***

9
Facing your fears
Before you can begin to behave assertively you need to start to think assertively. In the last
exercise you identified some of the situations in which you find it difficult to do or say what
you think because you are not sure that you have the right. This is only part of the story, I
have worked with many people who genuinely believe they have the right but do not have
the confidence to assert that right.

*** Exercise – What stops you? ***

Think about all the times in your life when you have not made a change, tackled a situation or
avoided a conversation because you did not have the confidence to do it.
What stopped you?

What were you afraid might happen as a result?

*** End of Exercise ***

10
 *** Exercise – Your support network ***
List all the people in your support network who foster your self-belief. Do not include the
people that undermine you.

*** End of Exercise ***

If your list is quite small think about how you could expand it e.g. join a club, an on-line forum
or a business network
‘Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.
Small people always do that, but the really great
make you feel that you too can become great’ Mark Twain

11
3. Visualize success
When we are thinking about doing something we perceive as difficult we tend to focus on
all the things that could go wrong. This results in all our energy following that negative focus.
Imagine how much more powerful it would be to channel all that energy into making it go
well. Ask yourself what would it look like if I handled this situation really well? How would I be
behaving? What would the outcome be? What do I need to do to ensure that happens?
Many people struggle with the concept of visualization and will argue that they cannot do it. If
you are one of those people try the following exercise.

*** Exercise - Visualization ***

Imagine that you are walking down the road and you pass a beautiful cottage with flowers
round the door.
What color are the flowers?

The front door opens and a child walks out.

How old is the child?

The child bends down and picks up a toy.

What does the toy look like?

You have probably got quite a strong image in your mind now – that is visualization. Practice
this with all kinds of situations.
*** End of Exercise***

*** Exercise - Visualization ***

Think about a situation that you find difficult to handle at the moment. Spend some time
imagining yourself being very successful and happy with how you deal with it.

*** End of Exercise***

12
4. Congratulate yourself
Human beings have evolved to spend more time thinking about negative experiences than
positive ones. Our brain tends to focus by default on what has gone wrong and how we could
put it right. The following exercise can help to direct your thoughts away from the negative
towards the positive.
*** Exercise - Reflect on your success ***
Every night for the next week, before you go to sleep, reflect on two things:
1. Ask yourself ‘What have I done well today?’. Identify anything that you are pleased with -
remember the events you choose can be small things – for example:
‘I was pleased with the way the presentation went this afternoon’
‘I thought the meal I cooked tonight was really nice.’
2. Remember any praise you have received during the day, repeat it to yourself and
congratulate yourself.

*** End of Exercise***

I have a lot of energy
*** Exercise – Strengthening your self-confidence ***
Look back over the 12 ways to develop confidence and identify 3 things that you are going to
do.

Action 1:
First step:

Action 2:
First step:

Action 3:
First step:

*** End of Exercise*** 13

 Chapter Three: Assertive Communication Skills
‘Whether you think that you can or that you can’t ,
you are usually right.’ Henry Ford

1. Using appropriate language

*** Exercise – Saying sorry ***
Listen to yourself over the next few weeks and notice the times that you say sorry. Each time
consider:
What am I apologizing for? If the answer is ‘nothing’ then consider what you could have said
instead of sorry.
*** End of Exercise***

3. Tone of voice
The words are only part of the story – you can convey a whole range of meanings by altering
the pace, pitch, tone, volume or emphasis in your delivery.
Let’s take a fairly simple sentence
‘I have got a huge amount of work to get through so really can’t chat now.’
¾¾ Say this sentence in a quiet, hesitant, apologetic way
¾¾ Now say it again in a loud, belligerent way emphasizing the words huge and really.
¾¾ Now say it in a sarcastic way with emphasis on the ‘I have’.
¾¾ Now say it in a level, mid-pitch tone.

*** Exercise - Calming yourself ***

Sit in an upright and comfortable position.
Close your eyes or lower them to the ground if you are somewhere too public
Breathe through your nose for a count of four.
Hold the breath for a count of seven.
Then exhale through your mouth for a count of eight – concentrate on pushing all the air out
with your tummy muscles.
Repeat this five times
Practice this regularly and you will find that it becomes more automatic and will help to calm
you and ensure that your voice remains even and measured.
*** End of Exercise***

14
5. Listening
*** Exercise - Change and feedback ***
Spend a few minutes answering the following questions as honestly as possible:
When did you last change your mind after listening to someone else’s point of view?

How comfortable are you with other people challenging your views?

How often do you ask others for feedback and then act on what they have told you?

*** End of Exercise***

‘He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that’ John Stuart Mill

15
 Chapter Four: Assertiveness Techniques
2. Saying no
*** Exercise – Saying no ***
Look at the following examples and then plan your own.

The phone rings when you are eating your evening meal. You pick it up and the person on the
other end says ‘Good evening, I am ringing from a local window installation company with a
once in a lifetime offer – how are you this evening?’
‘This is not a convenient time as I am eating my evening meal. I do have a policy of not taking
cold calls so please could you remove my details from your database.’
It is Monday morning and you have a mountain of things to do before your first meeting at
10.00am. A colleague arrives and pulls up a chair next to you and says ‘Have you got a minute?
I have got so much to tell you – you will never believe what happened to me this weekend.’
‘I would love to hear what happened, however, I have loads to do before 10 o’clock so could we
meet for lunch?’

Your manager has asked you to stay late – you had arranged to meet a friend for a drink and
you don’t want to cancel the arrangement.

Now think of a situation in which you find it hard to say no and answer the following
questions.

Do you have the right to say no in this situation?

What do you worry will happen if you do say no?
How rational is that concern?
If you were going to say no how could you do it?

*** End of Exercise***

16
 *** Exercise – Choosing the technique ***

Look at the following scenarios and decide which technique you would use if you wanted to
handle the situation assertively.
1. On a night out a few weeks ago you lent a friend £20 and she still hasn’t paid you back.
You have seen her several times and have dropped a few hints about feeling a bit short of
money but she has not offered to return the money.

2. A colleague wants your help with a non-urgent matter. You are happy to help however not
at the moment as you want to finish a report before you go home.

3. You are looking for a present for a friend and the sales assistant has gone to a lot of
trouble finding a range of things for you to look at, however, you are not sure if they are
exactly what you want.

4. It is Monday morning and you have a mountain of things to do before your first meeting
at 10.00am. A colleague arrives and pulls up a chair next to you and says, ‘Have you got a
minute? I have got so much to tell you – you will never believe what happened to me this
weekend.’

17
5. You are out with a group of your partner’s friends who you do not know particularly well.
One of them begins to say some quite unpleasant and, in your opinion, untrue things about a
close friend of yours.

6. Over the last few weeks your colleague has been taking a lot of personal calls during
working hours. As a consequence you are doing quite a lot of extra work to ensure things get
done, you are beginning to feel quite annoyed that she is expecting you to fill in for her.

7. Weeks ago you agreed to a sales person giving you a quote for some new windows in your
house. You have decided that you can’t afford them at the moment but said that you may
come back to the company next year if your financial position improves. Since then you have
received several phone calls from the company which have been attempts to get you to agree
to have the work done in six months time.

8. You have forgotten to do something that your manager told you was urgent. The next
day she asks to see you and says ‘That was a really serious mistake and I do feel you need to
improve your attitude to work.’

Some suggestions for ideas on how to deal with these scenarios can be found at the end of
the book.
*** End of Exercise***
18
 Chapter Five: Putting it into Practice
**** Scenario three– Cassie’s story ***

Cassie has recently moved to a new job. She used to work in the same organization but for a
different department. In her last job she had an annual appraisal in which her training needs
for the year were discussed and agreed. Her new manager has said that she doesn’t believe
in the appraisal process as she thinks it is better to have conversations as and when they
are needed and not at a time decided by HR. Cassie would like to have a conversation with
her new manager about her training for the next year but every time she raises the issue her
manager says ‘There is no rush for that you have only just started with us.’

Cassie’s preparation
What do I want to happen?
I would like to sit down with my manager and discuss my personal development.

Do I have the confidence to address this issue? What are my concerns?

I have tried to approach her face to face and have been dismissed so I do not feel confident
about trying that again but I do not want to let the issue go because it is really important to
me as I want to develop and progress.

What advice would you give Cassie on how to deal with this situation assertively?

19
 *** Scenario four – Your story ***
What do I want to happen?

Do I have the confidence to address this issue?

What are my fears?

How can I deal with this assertively?

Am I willing and able to listen and compromise about this issue?

20
 Chapter Six: Action Planning
‘Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that
causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path
and you will find you have crossed the mountain.’

Please pick up a pen and write your name in the box below using the hand that you do not
usually write with.

How did that feel? Probably quite awkward and clumsy and so next time you pick up a
pen you are likely to go back to using the hand that you always write with (unless you have
broken your arm!). It is quicker and more comfortable and this highlights the dilemma with a
lot of learning, it involves time, practice and patience.
This is when the new behavior has become something that you do without thinking, it
becomes second nature. The day you drive to work without remembering the journey,
So you need to identify small changes that you want to make and record them on the action
plan. Do not set yourself really difficult or challenging goals because as with any good
training you need to build your muscles up gradually.

And remember:
‘If you always do what you have always done,
you will always get what you have always got.’

21
Personal action plan
The purpose of this action plan is to identify areas that you want to work on and decide what
action you are going to take. Look back through the exercises in the book to help you.
‘The great end of learning is not knowledge but action.’ Peter Honey
Example action plan:
Area to work on Action
Receiving compliments Next time someone compliments me I will say thank you
and nothing else.

Avoiding snapping at my Develop a ‘banked phrase’ to use when she comments on

mother in law the way that I am bringing up the children.

Developing my self-confidence Borrow ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’ from the library.

Understand what assertive Look for role models at work and notice
behavior looks like how they behave.

My action plan
Area to work on Action
Area to work on Action

23
Ideas for the exercises at the end of chapter 4

1. On a night out a few weeks ago you lent a friend £20 and she still hasn’t paid you back.
You have seen her several times and have dropped a few hints about feeling a bit short of
money but she has not offered to return the money.
This requires a direct request to be made for the money. ‘Hi, I am not sure if you remember but
when we were shopping in town you borrowed £20 from me – please could I have it back?’

2. A colleague wants your help with a non-urgent matter. You are happy to help however not
at the moment as you want to finish a report before you go home.
I would suggest using a flipping no in this situation. You do want to help your colleague
however it is not convenient to do so now. ‘I am more than happy to go through that with you.
I have to finish this report today so how about we meet first thing tomorrow morning?’

3. You are looking for a present for a friend and the sales assistant has gone to a lot of
trouble finding a range of things for you to look at, however, you are not sure if they are
exactly what you want.
I would recommend using a time out phrase in this situation. ‘Thank you very much for your
help I really appreciate it. I need to go away and think about what you have shown me and
make a decision.’

4. It is Monday morning and you have a mountain of things to do before your first meeting
at 10.00am. A colleague arrives and pulls up a chair next to you and says, ‘Have you got a
minute? I have got so much to tell you – you will never believe what happened to me this
weekend’.
A combination of a reasoned and flipping no is probably the easiest way to deal with this – ‘I
can’t wait to hear however I do have to finish this before 10.00am so how about we meet for
lunch?’

5. You are out with a group of your partner’s friends who you do not know particularly well.
One of them begins to say some quite unpleasant and, in your opinion, untrue things about a
close friend of yours.
In this scenario you want to support your friend but at the same time do not want to create
tension in a social situation. Therefore stating your opinion in a clear way without contradicting
the other person is one way to deal with this assertively. ‘I have known Kate for quite a long
time and that has not been my experience of her, she has always been very honest and reliable
in her dealings with me.’

24
6. Over the last few weeks your colleague has been taking a lot of personal calls during
working hours. As a consequence you are doing quite a lot of extra work to ensure things
get done, you are beginning to feel quite annoyed that she is expecting you to fill in for her.
The risk with this situation is that you start to get annoyed and make assumptions about the
other person’s behavior before discussing it with them. The earlier you tackle this the better so
use the introduce, impact, discuss model to raise the issue with them. ‘There have been quite a
few occasions this week when I have had to deal with queries at the desk because you have been
on the phone. I have noticed that you have been receiving a lot more personal calls than usual –
is everything alright?’

7. Weeks ago you agreed to a sales person giving you a quote for some new windows in
your house. You have decided that you can’t afford them at the moment but said that you
may come back to the company next year if your financial position improves. Since then you
have received several phone calls from the company which have been attempts to get you to
agree to have the work done in six months time.
In this type of situation we often feel slightly awkward because we did agree to the quote being
done in the first place. It is important to remember that you have the right to say no and to
change your mind. I would therefore recommend using broken record – ‘As I told your colleague
when he rang last week I do not want to commit to this work at the moment. If I do decide to
have the work done I will contact you but I would like to stress that I do not want to sign up
to anything now and I do not want to receive any further phone calls regarding this quote. If I
decide that I want to have the work done I will ring you.’

8. You have forgotten to do something that your manager told you was urgent. The next
day she asks to see you and says ‘That was a really serious mistake and I do feel you need to
improve your attitude to work.’
In a situation like this it is important to acknowledge the mistake and apologize for it. The
second part of the comment is not specific and therefore requires clarification so that you can
decide whether there is any truth in it. ‘I am really sorry that I forgot to do that and I will make
sure that I do it this morning. I was not aware that you were generally unhappy with my attitude
to work and I would appreciate the opportunity to hear your concerns – could we meet again
this afternoon?’

25
 About the publishers
Universe of Learning Limited is a small publisher based in the UK with production in England and
America. Our authors are all experienced trainers or teachers who have taught their skills for many
years. If you are interested in any of our current authors (including Deborah and Lois) coming to
speak at your event please do email support@[Link] and we’ll pass the email on..
If you would like to purchase larger numbers of books then please do contact us (sales@UoLearn.
com). We give discounts from 5 books upwards. For larger volumes we can also quote for changes
to the cover to accommodate your company logo and to the interior to brand it for your company.
All our books are written by teachers, trainers or people well experienced in their roles and our goal
is to help people develop their skills with a well structured range of exercises.
If you have any feedback about this book or other topics that you’d like to see us cover please do
contact us at support@[Link].
Keep Learning!
To buy ebooks please visit [Link],
to buy printed books visit your favorite bookseller.

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