Empathy and assertiveness in human communication

Abstract

The way we communicate directly affects the quality of our relationships with other people. The two most important competences in interpersonal communication are empathy and assertiveness. Emphatic, i.e. attentive and accurate understanding and feeling of another person’s thoughts, experiences, and desires enables us to love them in a way that takes into account their individual situation and needs. We are able to love maturely only those whom we understand. Assertiveness enables us to talk about and express ourselves in an honest, direct and socially acceptable way. When we are assertive, other people have the opportunity to better understand us and respect our needs, desires and expectations. Yet, theoretical knowledge of the essence of empathy and assertiveness is not enough if we want to communicate maturely. We need to work on our own character because the way we communicate depends more on who we are than what knowledge we possess.