On page 55. In our textbook, the author details some communication behaviors an assertive person is likely to demonstrate.
“Assertive communication includes good eye contact, straight posture, and an air of competence”.
In other words, you have to know what your talking about. Competence is key because if you take the assertive position in a meeting or in a group context, this will often thrust you into a leadership role. The consequence of being assertive is that people will now look to you for guidance, or elect you as their unofficial spokesperson.
If there is a disagreement between group members, your assertiveness - acting in conjunction with a competent understanding of the issues - will likely cast you as “lead collaborator”.
Collaboration is closely linked with teamwork, and, very similarly, requires an assertive personality to help get the conversation started. Ideally, in collaboration all members of the group have equal influence. However, given the nature of group communication, not everyone feels comfortable with sharing their opinions. Some people may prefer avoidance or accommodation, while others (admittedly a minority) may seem verbally aggressive or competitive with their teammates.
Being both competent and assertive helps to bridge the gap between these different personality types.
Being competent and assertive is important during interviews. If someone were to be interviewed for a gaming review company, the person should be up-to-date with the latest games. If the person is obsolete in the gaming industry, he or she will not fit the position. Competent shows that the listener is serious about a topic, and will not be wrong. Assertive shows business. Time is money. Meeting or interviews have to be in order because no one wants to waste their time. Competent and Assertive both have preparation. People need to be prepared for any interviews or meetings. Time cannot be wasted!
ReplyDeleteI feel that this is very relevant to many of us students, because at one point or another we are going to be entering the work force after we graduate if we already have not. I feel that as you said being assertive is very important, because if your not confident in your craft (yourself) than your not going to be able to sell yourself to someone else. Along with that competence is just as important, because if you dont know what your talking about, then how in the heck do you expect to land a job with no knowledge. I feel that we need to prepare ourselves in many ways before we step out in the real work, and I believe that assertiveness is something that your born with, and can be gained, but competence is a thing that you do gain by practice and learning. Good Post.
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