PART 2:    ASSERTIVENESS: FINDING MY OWN VOICE

Time:

Materials:

To differentiate between aggressive, assertive and passive behaviour

Fifteen minutes

Board/flipchart

Assertive behaviour is a relatively new concept in the area of psychology. It means communicating in a direct and clear manner that is respectful of self and others. Being assertive is sometimes misinterpreted as 'getting your own way'; it simply means finding your own voice and being respectful of everybody including yourself.

Being aggressive isn't "bad," neither is being passive. The boundary of being passive, aggressive or assertive differs for each person. Each person has different ways of seeing the same situation, i.e., what one person will define as assertive behaviour will be defined as passive by another. Every person is entitled to their opinion. Everybody, depending on the situation chooses to be assertive, aggressive or passive.

Method

1. Write the terms PASSIVE, ASSERTIVE, AGGRESSIVE (in this order) on the board and ask the participants what each of these individual terms look like. Note their comments on the board. Follow the pattern of asking what does Passive look like, Aggressive etc., and then Assertive. Some of the responses might be: