Being assertive
Featured in the Call Centres: Maximising Performance training manual
By Tony Lockwood
Category: Sales Skills
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
Assertiveness in a call centre environment is a fine balancing act. It is all too easy to appear overly aggressive or, alternatively, too passive during telephone conversations. By expressing themselves clearly and directly, participants increase their chance of getting a point across. Assertive communication, therefore, leads to more positive interactions with those around them. Assertive behaviour does not necessarily mean that they ‘win’ every time, however, but it makes them feel better when they don’t! When things don’t go their way – a customer complaint not being resolved, for example – they can at least maintain self-esteem in the knowledge that they handled the situation professionally and positively. By definition, assertiveness encourages a positive frame of mind. It helps them to move on instead of constantly regretting what should or shouldn’t have been said. Being assertive means being able to say what you feel, need or want in a confident manner, whilst remaining aware of other people’s feelings, needs and wants at the same time. Developing assertive skills helps you to cope with challenging situations in a positive and calm manner, as well as ensuring that day-to-day interactions run smoothly. This training activity provides a structured approach to developing and maintaining assertiveness, whilst focusing participants on the fact that the skill of assertiveness can be likened to physical fitness – one circuit around the gym does not a bodybuilder make! Assertiveness skills are built gradually over a period of time, as participants become more proficient at dealing with everything from small day-to-day incidents to bigger challenges, as and when they arise.
The training activity begins by defining the term ‘assertive’. The participants carry out a group exercise with the objective of defining not only what being ‘assertive’ means, but also what being ‘aggressive’ and ‘passive’ mean, so that they understand clearly the difference between the behavioural styles. The next exercise, on the benefits of assertiveness, encourages the participants to commit to the rest of the training activity, in the knowledge that they personally will benefit as a result. A group brainstorming session provides the vital ingredients for success in any assertiveness process, and the next small-group exercise looks at each of five steps to assertiveness, breaking them down into actual meaning and ways of demonstrating the behaviour, and providing examples where appropriate. Finally, the participants work individually on a handout which asks them to identify aggressive, passive and assertive responses to tones of voice in various situations.
Who is it for: Assertiveness in a call centre environment is a fine balancing act. It is all too easy to appear overly aggressive or, alternatively, too passive during telephone conversations. This training activity is intended for use by trainers to provide participant
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 8 |
| Typical Duration: | 02:55:00 |
| No of Pages: | 20 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Additional resources: A small soft ball or bean bag.
Purpose: This training activity is intended for use by trainers with all members of call centre staff. It enables participants to improve the way they deal with a variety of customer situations and encourages more effective communication styles within the organisation.
Download the training activity, Being assertive as featured in the Fenman training manual; Call Centres: Maximising Performance