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Description

Assertiveness: Setting Boundaries, Making Requests and Saying No

Two days to move beyond avoidance or aggressive reactions and express yourself clearly at work

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Accepting one task too many, letting an inappropriate remark pass, postponing a request you consider legitimate: many professionals swing between avoidance and abrupt reactions. The cost shows up in workloads that are endured rather than chosen and in relationships that slowly deteriorate.

This 14-hour programme treats assertiveness as a set of behaviours that can be learned. Participants identify their habitual reactions under pressure, practise making a request and then a reasoned refusal, and learn how to receive criticism and give it without attacking the person.

Learning objectives

  • Identify your patterns of avoidance, aggression or manipulation
  • Formulate a precise request to a reluctant counterpart
  • Express a reasoned refusal without damaging the relationship
  • Receive criticism by separating fact from judgement
  • Give criticism focused on observable behaviour
  • Hold your position when faced with persistence

What makes this programme different

Role-play exercises built from real situations brought by participants
Repeated practice in reasoned refusal with a persistent counterpart
A self-observation grid of reactions under pressure completed over the two days

Programme

1Identifying Your Reactions

Avoidance, aggression, manipulation

  • Description of the three non-assertive reactions
  • Identifying your dominant reactions according to context
  • The relational cost of each type of reaction
  • What assertive behaviour actually involves

2Making Clear Requests

How to formulate a request

  • Preparing a request based on facts and a stated need
  • Choosing the right moment and channel
  • Handling objections and evasive answers
  • Restating the agreement obtained

3Saying No

The reasoned refusal

  • Distinguishing between refusing a task and rejecting a person
  • Building a refusal with a reason and an alternative solution
  • Holding your position when faced with persistence
  • Managing guilt after saying no

4Giving and Receiving Criticism

Exchanges that remain usable

  • Receiving criticism without immediate justification
  • Sorting the factual element from the judgement
  • Formulating criticism about a specific behaviour
  • Closing a critical exchange with an agreement

Who is it for

Anyone wishing to gain ease and confidence in professional exchanges, whatever their level of responsibility.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.