In today's cut throat competitive world, professionally as well as personally we all need to practice the skills of assertiveness in order to get ahead. The moment you start applying the principles of assertiveness you learn to greatly become aware of yourself and also the impact you have on others. You can learn to modify your behavior and gain confidence, enhance your self-esteem and confidence, and be an effective assertiveness communicator. It will further enable you to break away from perceptions and stereotypes and start looking for solutions and viable alternatives in every situation.

Assertiveness means taking responsibility and ownership of your life, career and your feelings and actions. All of us at some point of time realize that if we could change our style to a more assertive one we would be able to gain in life. There are several assertiveness strategies out there that could hold you in good stead and get the coveted results for you if applied appropriately.

Start by getting to know others:
Assertiveness means shedding your cloak of inhibition and getting to know others. Learn to network and make new contacts. Practice in order to be able to hone your skills of making small talk. When you find yourself in a group do not lose any opportunity to get you started. You will be surprised at how much you can learn, and you will ultimately start enjoying yourself.

Things that you could do at the beginning until you are an ace at it:

Learn to articulate your feelings and opinions rather than keeping them bottled up. Communication will clear the air and give all around a better chance of being understood.

In case you find it difficult to make small talk, ask yourself why and get to the bottom of it. People who have been asked this have come up with answers like I am not witty, I can't hold my own in a conversation, and I'm self-conscious. When you look at these answers carefully you will realize that there are ways to get around them.

Try and overcome these negative and self-limiting feelings by concentrating on other people around you.

Try and keep a repertoire of topics to speak about up your sleeve. This will enable you to easily strike up a conversation.

Start by using Effective Action Planning Techniques to get you going up the assertiveness ladder:

The three stages of assertiveness involved are:

Assess your assertive style by developing questions and components to gauge and relevant information to get it going.

Modify your actions accordingly such as add or delete the necessary actions and get yourself a new plan in place.

Revise your plan from time to time. Measure it against the milestones planned, and the assertiveness achievements.

There are several different ways that you could get more assertive in your dealing with those around you and reap the benefits.