Are you aggressive? Know your communication style

Your communication style is how you express and exchange information with others.

Understanding your communication style helps you understand other people’s communication styles.

Your communication style affects you in your workplace, relationships, friendships, and interactions with people.

They include assertive, passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive, and manipulative communication styles.

Assertive

This is the most effective communication style.

One can move from other styles to this by being accountable, and learning to express themselves among others.

An individual with an assertive communication style is confident, they express their opinions, and emotions without belittling other people.

They consider the needs of other people and include using statements like “ I feel...” when expressing themselves.

Passive

In the passive communication style, the individual suppresses their emotions, opinions, and avoids confrontation in case of a conflict.

They tend to mostly follow others, and go with the flow. In friendships, they tend to feel that they are not heard or prioritised. 

Aggressive

The aggressive style involves the use of commanding language, rudeness, and failure to listen to others.

They also dominate the conversation and control others by criticising, blaming, and threatening others.

Passive Aggressive

This combines aspects of both passive and aggressive styles.

The passive is usually displaced with the aggressive usually hidden beneath.

That is they seem easy and outgoing on the outside but they are operating from a place of anger or resentment within.

It can be brought out through the use of sarcasm, being patronizing among others.

Manipulative

Here, the individual uses cunning, deceit, and influence to control the outcome of the conversation.