Clarity & Confidence: Assertiveness for Today’s Professionals

Being assertive is about communicating your needs and desires in a clear and respectful manner so as to have enhanced personal and professional relationships. Building your assertiveness can better your self-esteem, reduce anxiety and create more satisfying engagement with others.

In this course, you will learn relevant theories and key concepts from fields such as psychology to strengthen your ability to be assertive and achieve your desired results while maintaining relationships with others.

In this workshop, participants will learn how to:

• Understand what being assertive means and how to differentiate it from being aggressive
• Recognise the importance and impact being assertive has on individual wellbeing
• Know when to accept and when to “no”
• Improve self-esteem and have better self-confidence

Outline

• Define Assertiveness and Evaluate Your Current Level of Assertiveness
  • What is assertiveness and how do you display / practise it?
  • Being assertive versus aggressive

• Communication Skills for Assertiveness (Verbal and Nonverbal)
  • Role of the communication process
  • Choice of situation and context

• Knowing When to Speak Up and Stand Up for Yourself
  • Personality traits and how to work with them for yourself

• Understand the Connection Between Your Past Behaviour and its Impact on Your Assertiveness
  • Patterns of behaviour and habits
  • 3 levels of cognition
• Discover Skills to be Assertive
  • Practical steps towards implementing the assertive mindset and behaviour
  • Creating a toolbox
• How to Say No
  • Nature of conflict
  • What saying no really means
• Affirmations
  • Create a list that is relevant for you
• Setting Goals, Understanding Boundaries, and Dealing with Criticism
  • Nature of setting goals and frameworks
  • Importance of boundaries and handling criticism

Grants (if applicable)

• Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP):

  NTUC members enjoy 50% unfunded* course fee support for up to $250 per year when you sign up for courses supported under UTAP. NTUC Members aged 40 and above can enjoy higher funding support at up to $500 per year for courses attended between 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2025. NTUC Starter members can enjoy funding support at up to $200 per year. For more information on how to submit UTAP claims, click here.

  *Unfunded course fee refers to the balance course fee payable after applicable government subsidies. This excludes material fees, registration fees, misc. fees etc.

Ms Michelle Tan is a multilingual, passionate and perceptive learning and development professional who brings a wealth of cross-cultural experience and human-centered insight to her work. With a strong belief in the transformative power of collaboration, she has supported individuals and teams across diverse industries in navigating complexity, building meaningful connections, and unlocking their potential.

Michelle holds a Master’s degree in Organisational Psychology, which underpins her expertise in coaching, facilitation, and leadership development. Her approach is grounded in empathy and clarity—she sees people not only as they are, but as they aspire to be. Whether guiding individuals through personal growth or helping teams align with strategic goals, Michelle is known for her ability to create safe, reflective spaces that foster trust, resilience, and breakthrough thinking. She has worked extensively in multicultural environments, adapting with agility and grace to unfamiliar contexts. Her calm presence, coupled with her ability to hold space for ambiguity and discomfort, has made her a trusted partner in both corporate and community settings.

Michelle’s facilitation style is engaging, intuitive, and deeply attuned to the needs of her participants. She is especially passionate about helping others find clarity in the midst of uncertainty and supporting them in achieving their version of greatness.