Assertive Communication In Business Development

Assertive communication is your best ally as a business developer. Learn how it can help you get more results and skyrocket your career.

As business developers, we talk to clients, partners, managers, and other peers on a regular basis. We identify problems and try to solve them. Often, this requires in-team collaboration and effective communication.

There are three types of communication: passive, assertive, and aggressive.

Passive and aggressive communication will prevent you from building solid friendships. You may get your point across, but you will often feel misunderstood or not respected enough.

But there is another type of communication, assertive communication. Assertive communication can help you get the most out of your conversations.

It doesn’t involve overconfidence or too much directness in the way you speak. In fact, it is more about developing and practicing emotional intelligence with others.

So you can advance your goals while being respectful to others.

In this article, we will dive deeper into:

What is assertive communication?

Before diving into the benefits of assertive communication, let’s get back to the basics:

Assertive communication is the ability to communicate feelings and thoughts in an honest and original manner without violating the rights of others.

I am very passionate about communication. During my studies in London, I learned that one of the most important things is to be a good listener and a good speaker. It is crucial in order to understand other people’s standpoints and engage in high-quality conversations.

Assertive communication can be textual, linguistic, and visual. For example, marketing materials involve textual and visual. So, ensure that your texts and visual data are respectful, not offensive, and direct. In that way, you inspire customers to take action.

As a BD pro, you need to ensure that how you communicate with your audience includes all three aspects.

Benefits of assertive communication

I’ve often come across people who may be too passive or too aggressive in how they communicate with others. What I’ve noticed is that usually, they don’t manage to satisfy their needs and fail to understand what the other person means.

Of course, they often end up having conflicts with other people!

Why create all this stress when we can simply learn assertive communication? It provides a balance. You listen and speak in a balanced way. Besides, you gain more out of a conversation at all times.

Being assertive can be very useful. You will find that conversations become more engaging and less stressful preventing any form of potential abuse.

Further, your talking buddy and you will develop trust in your relationship. You develop a connection based on mutual trust and respect.

By practicing assertive communication, you also practice emotional intelligence. As a result, your conversations are clear, beneficial, and empathetic in nature.

There are three C’s to achieve assertive communication: confidence, control, and clarity.

Confidence is your ability to believe in yourself. Control is maintaining stability while you deliver information.

Clarity is when your message is concise and clear. All three components are a necessity for success in business development.

If you manage a business development team and would like to help them improve their communications skills visit our corporate training page.

Assertive communication in business development

So, what can assertive communication do for you in business development?

First, it is important to remember your goals and business objectives. As a business developer, your main job is to create business opportunities in a sustainable way. In order to achieve that, you need to make sure that your audience develops loyalty and respect for your business. This comes as a result if you build a good reputation for yourself and your company.

Business development professionals also meet with people from diverse cultures. Being sensitive to cultural differences is important here.

You need to communicate without offending the other person’s cultural background. One tip is to learn about each culture, and how your business is relevant to it.

This is an example of linguistic assertive communication. To be successful at it, practice tips such as staying humble, patient, and curious throughout your conversations.

Further, as a business developer, networking at events is crucial. So, you must build solid relationships with prospects, strategic partners, and other stakeholders.

You have to work hard in order to move conversations forward and make things happen. This involves having a strategic and quick mindset to achieve your goals.

But above all, you need to be a smart communicator in order to maintain these relationships.

It is particularly helpful every time you have a very limited amount of time to communicate with your stakeholders. For example, if you have a 30-minute call with a client, you need to move the conversation very fast to get to the bottom of things.

If you use assertive communication, you’ll be able to get your point across faster thus increasing your chances of success.

5 Practical tips to be more assertive

So, now that you know you should be more assertive, what can you do to improve?

Read these 5 practical tips to learn fast and start building better relationships:

Familiarize yourself with emotional intelligence

Showing empathy makes you a better business developer. You can be both empathetic and assertive. By listening to others and being attentive, you show respect to the interlocutor. As a result, you can achieve your objectives.

Rehearse what you want to say

You don’t want to ruin your chance of succeeding by not practicing enough. Take a couple of hours beforehand to practice your speech. If possible, do a role-play with a colleague or a mentor.

They can give you honest feedback and you will get more confident. Besides, you will feel less stressed throughout the process. Manage your time efficiently.

Use body language

Research shows that how we present ourselves impacts other people’s decisions. The speed at which you speak, vocal clarity, and dialect are all very important. But, you want to make sure that you are also using gestures to convey your ideas.

This ensures that you are more persuasive and meet your final goals. The more gestures you use, the more clear, appealing, and convincing you will appear.

Show honesty

One of the most important things you can do is, to be honest with the interlocutor. You have to keep in mind that you want to build trust. Your conversation is your opportunity to achieve that. As trust builds, relationships become stronger.

Choose the right time and place

Remember to stay present during your meetings. Ensure that you choose a likable place and the right time. Your conversing partner will appreciate your effort. This, in turn, can result in favorable outcomes.

BONUS TIP: Get the professional training

The fastest way to improve communication skills is to get professional training. A professional trainer can help you identify your weak spots and help you get rid of them.

Thanks to their experience, they will help you save time that you can use to build new opportunities. Besides, they can give you specific tools and tactics that you can implement in your day-to-day job.

If you are looking for specific training on communication skills, visit our soft skills boot camp page.

If you’re looking for customized business development training for teams, check out our options.