The 5 Benefits Of Assertive Communication In Personal Relationships
Assertiveness is an aspect of communication that is expressed in many different ways, and in all of them, it usually provides advantages.
In life as a couple, at work, in meetings with friends… this way of communicating makes us more valued and prevents the appearance of conflicts and problems. And on the other hand, it is a communicative style that can be trained.
Taking that into account, throughout this article we will see what they are. the most important benefits of assertive communication in personal relationships
Assertiveness is a communication style characterized by the search for balance between respect for one’s own interests and values, and respect for the interests and values of the interlocutor or interlocutors, on the other
The above implies that problems can arise due to lack of assertiveness through two types of situations. For example, We may not communicate important information because we know that this will make the other person feel bad or lead them to get angry with us, which makes us fall into a pattern of avoiding problems in the short term (even if that means generating worse problems in the medium and long term).
And also The opposite can happen, that we express ourselves without trying to adjust our speech to what we think the other person will feel generating unnecessary discomfort for not having empathized.
The first type of assertiveness problems are common in people with a tendency to shyness and a predisposition to create personal ties based on dependency, while those of the second type correspond to those who have a tendency to narcissism, egocentrism or traits of the dark triad in general.
However, even those who fall a lot into these kinds of “traps” in their social relationships due to a lack of assertiveness are able to correct this or make great progress, in most cases. And as human beings we have a great capacity to adapt our behavior patterns to the environment and social interactions, and we can learn to enhance our assertiveness.
In fact, This is one of the most frequent objectives in psychotherapy processes with people who need to improve their social skills; Psychologists have the strategies and techniques so that the person can gain fluidity in the search for balance between respect for their own subjectivity and respect for the dignity and emotions of others.
The main benefits of assertive communication
This is a summary of the advantages and benefits of applying a good dose of assertiveness in our daily personal relationships.
1. Prevents the appearance of problems due to obstructions in communication channels
As we have already mentioned, assertiveness helps prevent us from falling into the short-term logic of “avoiding going through a bad time now” without considering the problems that this may cause later.
For example, in relationships, this helps to be able to identify aspects of coexistence that bother us, before the discomfort caused by these situations makes us explode due to frustration. In this way, it is possible to correct the problem or conflict in its earliest stages, when it has not yet generated a snowball effect.
2. It helps us know others better
Assertiveness predisposes us to base our personal relationships on honesty, without this implying saying out loud everything we constantly think (remember that assertiveness includes the criteria for knowing what is important to communicate and what is not).
By exposing meaningful information about ourselves, we encourage others to do the same and in this way we can learn about facets of them that in other circumstances they would not have revealed.
3. Turn our opinion into something more valued
How through assertiveness we are able to give constructive criticism without focusing on the mistakes or imperfections of others, this makes our point of view more valued and respected.
4. It allows us not to pay for the mistakes of others
Lack of assertiveness can lead some people to take on punishments or workloads for mistakes made by other people, by not daring to “reveal” who has made a mistake or has broken the rules. These kinds of injustices are much less frequent in assertive people.
5. It predisposes us to have our efforts valued
Another benefit of assertiveness is that it helps us to ensure that our involvement in projects or group work (in the professional field and also outside of it, such as in raising a grandson or nephew) is respected by not assuming that it is okay for our work to be underestimated.
