Table of contents:
- What is assertiveness
- What is empathy
- Assertiveness and empathy: ideal communication
- Characteristics of assertive and empathetic people
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Are you an assertive or empathic person? We hear a lot about these terms and the techniques that we can carry out to develop them, but do you know what the true meaning of each of them is and what relationship exists between the two? The truth is that they are two social skills that all people can develop and enhance throughout our lives and that, in general terms, help us improve our relationship with other people. Assertiveness allows us to express ourselves clearly, directly and appropriately in any context and empathy allows us to understand others and put ourselves in their place even if we do not share their points of view. Are both skills complementary? And, if so, how is an assertive and empathetic person? Then, in this article from Psychology-Online,We are going to answer all these questions and show what themain characteristics of assertive and empathetic people, pay attention!
You may also be interested in: Characteristics of an emotionally intelligent person Index- What is assertiveness
- What is empathy
- Assertiveness and empathy: ideal communication
- Characteristics of assertive and empathetic people
What is assertiveness
First, let's see what the definition of assertiveness is. This term refers to the social ability that a person develops internally and that allows him to communicate effectively with other people, he knows how to express his feelings, thoughts and opinions in the most appropriate way and at the appropriate time without any type of hostility nor aggressiveness.
An assertive person has the ability to be clear, frank and direct in any social situation, being respectful and without hurting the feelings of others at any time. Likewise, it also reacts and appropriately manages any conflict or discussion that it has to face.
Being assertive provides the person who has this ability benefits such as the following:
- Personal satisfaction in carrying out things with sufficient capacity.
- Increased self-confidence and self-confidence.
- Improved self-esteem.
- Proactivity.
- Efficient communication with all types of people.
- Social acceptance and respect for others.
- Strengthening of personal rights.
In the following Psychology-Online article, we show some of the most effective techniques to develop the capacity for assertiveness.
What is empathy
For its part, empathy is another personal skill that allows a person to have the ability to put themselves in the shoes of the other and understand and experience their points of view without necessarily adopting that perspective.
Empathic people listen to others attentively and are able to capture a lot of information about the other through, not only their words, but also their tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures, body posture, etc. From all this information, they can intuit what that person is feeling and, in addition, they have the ability to influence or modulate the emotions of others, trying to communicate and transmit those words that they know at that moment can help the other.
In short, they are people who care a lot about others, know how to listen, respectful, flexible of thought, supportive and with a great capacity for self-criticism.
In the following Psychology-Online article, we explain in detail what the differences are between assertiveness and empathy so that you better understand both concepts.
Assertiveness and empathy: ideal communication
Once both terms have been defined, we must clarify the following:
- Both assertiveness and empathy are two social skills that all human beings can develop throughout our lives, either intentionally or spontaneously from our daily experiences.
- There is no rational exclusivity between the two, that is, a person can be assertive but not empathetic and vice versa.
- They are totally complementary social skills that the same individual can possess. In a way, we can consider that empathy corresponds to the most human and emotional assertiveness.
When both skills come together and complement each other perfectly in one person, an ideal model of communication with other people can be achieved. And it is that, on the one hand, you have the clarity and security of assertiveness, which is key to expressing and satisfying your own needs, and, on the other hand, you have the understanding and generosity of empathy, which allows you to practice active listening and helping others.
Characteristics of assertive and empathetic people
We can conclude, then, that empathic assertiveness is the ability that allows us both to understand and understand the needs of other people, at the same time that it allows us to be understood and understood by others. Next, we show what are the main characteristics of assertive and empathetic people:
- They accept each person as they are, with their strengths and weaknesses. They are very respectful.
- They do not try to project their views or way of life onto others.
- They are understanding, have a conciliatory attitude and are open to understanding.
- They know how to correctly manage conflicts, putting the necessary means for their solution. For them, their purpose in a conflict is to reach an agreement and find the best way to solve the situation.
- They rely on communication as the best method to understand and understand the needs of others, as well as to know how to act later. They prefer to resolve and deal with issues and conflicts face to face.
- They avoid hurting the feelings of others, for this reason, first, they communicate their recognition of the other person and, a posteriori , they raise their needs, rights and opinions without any type of hostility or aggressiveness. They practice active listening, that is, first, they try to put themselves in the place of the other to understand them, but later they also claim their rights and express their thoughts to be equally heard and understood.
- When they communicate with someone, in addition to paying close attention to what that person says, they also take into account how they express themselves, what tone of voice they use and what body language they adopt.
- During conversations, they avoid taking their opinions or reflections to the personal terrain and focus the dialogue on events. Thus, they prevent the other person from feeling attacked or hurt by value judgments. They do not incur disqualifications or provocations to disarm the arguments of others.
- They are very grateful people.
- It is easy for them to apologize or accept their mistakes.
- They feel comfortable expressing their feelings and thoughts, and they always do so in a firm, reasoned and justified way.
- They transmit kindness, optimism and good energy to the people around them.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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