„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

2. Fogging. “I can see how you might say that I come on too strong with the
engineering division” (defusing criticism by agreeing with the critic’s perception of the
facts, without accepting accompanying judgment).
3. Negative assertion. “I failed to get my yearly projections to you on time”
(admitting behavioral mistake without conceding personality flaws).
4. Negative inquiry. “Would you like to tell me what it is that you dislike about my
management style?” (asking a question to allow someone to vent negative feelings and
doing so without taking it personally).
5. Free information. “You said that you quit your last position because you didn’t
agree with the CEO’s philosophy; would you elaborate on that?” (using a previous
comment as a base for gathering more information, in either a professional or a social
situation).
6. Self-disclosure. “I feel excited about having the opportunity to work with you”
(positive disclosure) or “I wish you wouldn’t tell me I’m wrong in front of other people”
(negative disclosure revealing information about self that is unknown, in either a
professional or a social situation).
Scripts
Once the different types of short statements and questions have been taught, they may be
combined into “scripts.” The most common script used in assertiveness training is the
DESC Script (Bower & Bower, 1976). In four sequential statements, it does the
following:
1. Describes a behavior that has a negative impact on the speaker: “When you tell
me you’ll contact the customer about a shipping date and then don’t follow
through . . . .”
2. Expresses a feeling in response to the behavior: “. . . I feel angry.”
3. Specifies the desired change in behavior: “I would prefer that you make good on
your commitment . . . .”
4. Gives consequences if the desired change does not occur: “. . . or I will look for
someone else to work with me.”
Designed for the purpose of aiding a person in maintaining his or her own rights,
this script works best in encounters in which the ongoing relationship is not of
importance. There is also a self-protective tone to the four statements. The tone makes
sense when we remember that initially assertiveness training was intended to help
passive people become assertive. Recently, however, assertiveness training has
broadened its base to help aggressive people move toward assertiveness. Five additions
can modify this script when used by an aggressive person or by someone who strongly
values the relationship in question: (1) expressing empathy, (2) providing an
explanation, (3) offering the possibility of positive consequences as well as negative,
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The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer