Communication styles: assertive vs aggressive

This intermediate Business English lesson plan looks into 2 types of communication styles: assertive and aggressive. Students will learn key differences between the 2 ways of communication and will practise using assertive expressions. This lesson will work great in combination with the following lessons: “The importance of good posture”, which includes key vocabulary about body language, “Dealing with a difficult co-worker”, “Business meetings; getting your point across”, “Self-care”, which includes different ways of saying “no”, and “Phrasal verbs: communication”, “Phrasal verbs: convincing and persuading”.

The lesson starts with a few questions about assertive and aggressive communication. Then, students look at 3 situations and find 1 assertive and 1 aggressive response and try to come up with basic rules of assertive and aggressive language. Then, they read a few tips and are presented with 17 expressions, which they need to divide into aggressive and assertive. Next, students transform 6 expressions from aggressive into assertive.

Vocabulary: Moving on, students discuss the role of body language in communication and in coming across as either aggressive or assertive. Then they learn a few expressions that will later be mentioned in the video (e.g. hunched shoulders, clenched jaw, lean forward). 

Video: Students watch a video called “Assertive vs aggressive”, which is divided into 2 parts, and complete 3 activities.

Speaking: Finally, students are given 4 scenarios to role-play.

The conversation questions provide further speaking opportunities, as well as a chance to revise the key vocabulary from this lesson.