How to stand up for yourself

1. Viewpoint

"Assertiveness is being aware of what you want and knowing a wide variety of techniques for relating to other people techniques that will give you positive influence over them."

2. Quotable quote

"When dealing with other people in trying to accomplish certain tasks, you will undoubtedly find that the assertive approach is the most effective. You will find that you are more likely to get the cooperation of others in getting things done, since they respect you and feel respected by you."

3. Here's an idea

As you work on developing your repertoire of assertiveness skills, remember that the truly assertive person is an expert in communicating with others. This means stating your ideas and feelings clearly, both with words and with body language.

Try to think of the skills of assertiveness as experiments in effective communication with you as the scientist. …