The 5 benefits of assertive communication in personal relationships

A review of the benefits of assertiveness in various areas of private life.

Assertiveness is an aspect of communication that is embodied in many different ways, and in all of them, it usually brings advantages.

In life as a couple, at work, in meetings with friends... this way of communicating makes us more valued and prevents the emergence of conflicts and problems. On the other hand, it is a communicative style that can be trained.

With this in mind, in this article we will look at the most important benefits of assertive communication. the most important benefits of assertive communication in personal relationships..

What does assertive communication consist of?

The assertiveness is a style of communication characterized by the search of the 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 hand..

The above implies that problems may arise due to lack of assertiveness through two types of situations. For example, it may happen that we do not communicate important information because we know that it will make the other person feel bad or make him or her angry with us, which makes us fall into a pattern of avoiding problems in the short term (even if this means generating worse problems in the medium and long term).

And the opposite can also the opposite can also happen, that we express ourselves without trying to adjust our speech to what we think the other person will feel, generating unnecessary discomfort.generating unnecessary discomfort for not having empathized.

The first kind of assertiveness problems are common in people with a tendency to shyness and a predisposition to create personal bonds based on dependency, while those of the second kind correspond to those who have a tendency to narcissism, egocentrism or dark triad traits in general.

However, even those who fall a lot into these kinds of "traps" in their social relationships because of a lack of assertiveness are able to correct that or make great strides, in most cases. And the fact is that 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 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 for the person to gain fluency in this search for balance between respect for one's 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. It avoids the appearance of problems due to obstructions in the communication channels.

As we have already mentioned, assertiveness helps to prevent us from falling into the short-sighted logic of "avoid going through a hard time now" without considering the problems that this can cause. without considering the problems that this may cause later.

For example, in couple relationships, this helps to identify aspects of coexistence that bother us, before the discomfort caused by these situations makes us explode out of frustration. Thus, 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 to 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 significant information about ourselves, we encourage others to do the same, and in this way we can get to know facets of our own lives.By doing so, we can learn facets of them that they would not otherwise reveal.

3. It makes our opinion 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 assume punishments or workloads for mistakes made by others.This is because they do not dare to "unveil" who has made a mistake or broken the rules. These kinds of injustices are much less frequent in people with assertiveness.

5. It predisposes us to have our efforts valued.

Another of the benefits of assertiveness is that it helps us to make our involvement in group projects or work (in the professional sphere and also outside it, such as raising a grandchild or nephew) to be respected.by not taking it for granted that it is okay for our work to be underestimated.

This aspect of assertive communication allows access to better living conditions and healthier social relationships.

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