Agencies & Consultancies

Training for agencies at all skill levels

  • Account management
  • New business
  • Confidence
  • Productivity
  • Writing
  • Motivating teams

In-House Comms

Training for in-house communications professionals

  • Best practice
  • Demonstrating value
  • Brand recognition
  • Confidence & Credibility
  • Media training

Kickstart Your PR!

Two-day intensive public relations workshop

  • Capturing media attention
  • Brand recognition
  • Engaging content
  • Supporting sales and marketing

Big Fish Balance

Mental health and wellness for communications professionals

  • Beating Burnout
  • mindfulness
  • Work-Life Balance
  • Mental Health in the Workplace

Kickstart Your PR!

Two-day intensive public relations workshop

  • Capturing media attention
  • Brand recognition
  • Engaging content
  • Supporting sales and marketing

Why on earth do PR consultants want to learn to be more assertive?

One of the things I enjoy about being a trainer is that I occasionally get to send myself off for training. It's fun to swap tips, share knowledge and meet people who have a similar obsession with whiteboards. On one such recent course we were chatting about what we'd been up to the previous week. One of the courses I'd given was 'Becoming Assertive for PR Consultants'. On hearing that, one of our little group almost choked on his coffee as he gasped: "Why on earth do PR consultants want to learn to be more assertive?"

Why on earth do PR consultants want to learn to be more assertive?

Behind this simple question lay a couple of misconceptions that crop up all the time

It made me laugh, to be honest. Behind this simple, candidly-expressed question lay a couple of misconceptions that crop up all the time. The first is that 'assertiveness' equates with being bright, sparkly and forthright — often even aggressive — and the second is that PR people are all confident masters of their own ships.

I spend almost all of my professional life working with and alongside PR people. Hell, I even used to be one! You can say many things about our industry, but one thing that we're almost never tagged with is 'shy and retiring'. And yet the courses I provide on becoming assertive continue to attract delegates — a fact which clearly surprised my colleague who prompted today's blog subject.

It's true that if you observe a typical PR assertiveness course alongside one given for a less, shall we say, client-responsive industry, then you would see many initial differences in the behaviour of the delegates. In fact, as a trainer, I rely on it. The delegates that I typically see for this course have no problems in introducing themselves to the group, explaining articulately what they want to get out of the course, and participating fully in the exercises.

Where I've trained people in assertiveness who work in different industries, the picture is often quite different. It's a little harder to ask for upfront discussion and frank exchanges of views. Anyone who's facilitated training will know that you have to work slightly differently to encourage people to participate when the act of getting up and holding court in front of a room is not part of their daily life. With both groups the learning and end results are the same and we manage to have the same amount of fun, but the volume button is slowly cranked up with the non-PR groups, as opposed to starting near 10.

PR people come on an assertiveness course because they need to be performing like articulate, bright and competent people 100% of the timeSo does this tell us anything? So far, not so much. We're still no closer to understanding why a PR consultant would sign up to learn more about assertiveness. But wait, maybe unpicking the reasons why they're there will help. This is where, for me, life becomes a whole lot more interesting. All of a sudden people are describing situations and events where they'd like to become more assertive and exert some consultative control. And they start talking about other people. Yes, some people come on the course because there are certain people, or certain categories of people, in whose presence they become unexpected doormats.

Pushing back on certain clients, delegating to a particular reluctant team member, providing ideas to some managers... can you start to see where this is going? For me, at least, this is where the answer lies. Whilst some people come on the course to learn all-round assertiveness skills, most people sign-up because they are assertive in many situations at work but, with some people or events, they find they just don't make headway and they don't understand how to turn it around.

For me, that hits the spot. Articulate, bright, competent PR people come on an assertiveness course because they need to be performing like articulate, bright and competent people 100% of the time. It's one thing being able to sell-in ideas to the client who's the most like all your friends and with whom you get on well. It's quite another to hold your nerve in front of the client who's least like you and your friends and might, frankly, be a bit scary to boot.

Maybe the true test of assertiveness is being able to behave like a consultant regardless of the situation or the people involved. What do you think?

Training Courses for PR and Comms Agencies

show all

All of our training courses for agency professionals

talented with clients

Be credible, effective and prevent problems

talented in the office

Manage time, people and campaigns with ease

talented with the media

Writing and pitching stories that get noticed

bigfish balance

Wellness Programmes for PR and Comms Professionals
Advanced Presentation Training
with Clients

Become a captivating and effective presenter

More

Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health
Big Fish Balance

FAA Level 1 Award, Regulated Qualifications Framework

More

Beating Burnout
Big Fish Balance

Stop stress from dragging you down

More

Becoming a Manager
in the Office

Incorporate great management techniques into your daily life

More

Bespoke Leadership Coaching
in the Office

By application only

More

Bite-Sized Leadership Coaching
in the Office

Rapid coaching conversations

More

Client Management
Talented with Clients

Improve and develop your working relationships with each client

More

Confidence and Assertiveness
in the Office

Say what you mean, professionally and directly

More

Creating Work-Life Balance
Big Fish Balance

Don't choose between your career and your life: have both

More

Crisis Communications
with Clients

Where do you start when it all goes wrong?

More

Grammar Crammer
in the Office

Grammatical errors and how to avoid them

More

Getting Buy-In
with Clients

Influencing and Persuading

More

Internal Communications Training
in the Office

On demand courses for internal comms professionals

More

Improving Personal Communication Skills
in the Office

Make good working relationships great

More

Kickstart Your PR!
with the Media

Introduction to PR

More

Mastering the Art Of Writing
Talented with the Media

How to write almost anything

More

Menopause in the Workplace
Big Fish Balance

How it can affect us, our work, and what to do about it

More

Mental Health in the Workplace
Big Fish Balance

Cultivate good mental health

More

Mental Health for Managers
Big Fish Balance

Create greater mental wellbeing in your team

More

Mindfulness in the Workplace
Big Fish Balance

Keeping your focus in times of chaos

More

Management and Leadership Training
in the Office

Get the best out of your team

More

Neurodivergence Awareness in the Workplace
Big Fish Balance

Embrace Neurodivergence for a More Inclusive Workplace

More

Neurodivergence for Managers
Big Fish Balance

Unlock the Potential of Neurodivergent Team Members

More

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Big Fish Balance

Equip yourself with the tools to build more confidence

More

Practical Creativity for PR
in the Office

Power up your brainstorms and boost your creativity

More

Practical coaching skills for managers
in the Office

Increase your team's engagement and productivity

More

Professional Impact and Presence
with Clients

Stop being overlooked

More

Editing and Proofreading Other People's Writing
in the Office

The seven steps to successful editing

More

Presentation Training
with Clients

Make every presentation more engaging and effective

More

Refresh your press release writing skills
with the Media

Be more successful at getting your stories published

More

Social Superstars
With the Media

How to Make Your Clients' Social Media Communications Shine

More

Supercharge Your Writing
with the Media

Take your writing to a higher level

More

Supervising First Aid for Mental Health
Big Fish Balance

FAA Level 3 Award, Regulated Qualifications Framework

More

Pitching to the Media
with the Media

Get more of your stories published

More

Time Management for Remote Working
in the Office

Manage your workload from home

More

Time Management
in the Office

Manage your workload and get tasks completed on time

More

Writing compelling content for the media
with the Media

Make your writing effective, engaging and shareable

More

Writing effective news releases
with the Media

Get more stories published

More