Formatted assertive statement

A formatted assertive statement is any informative statement that is formatted in order to be assertive.

Todd Bishop's format

One expert in crew resource management (CRM), Todd Bishop, developed his five-step assertive statement process.

Step 1. Attention getter

Opening or attention getter - Address the individual. "Hey Chief," or "Captain Smith," or "Bob," or whatever name or title will get the person's attention.

Step 2. Concern statement

State your concern - State what you see in a direct manner while owning your emotions about it. "We're low on fuel," or "I think we might have fire extension into the roof structure."

Step 3. Problem statement

State the problem as you see it - "I don't think we have enough fuel to fly around this storm system," or "This building has a lightweight steel truss roof. I'm worried that it might collapse."

Step 4. Solution statement

State a solution - "Let's divert to another airport and refuel," or "I think we should pull some tiles and take a look with the thermal imaging camera before we commit crews inside."

Step 5. Closing request

Obtain agreement (or buy-in) - "Does that sound good to you, Captain?"

Clear message format

In the Looking Out, Looking In book, Adler and Towne expressed their clear message format, which they represented as "assertion without aggression."

Behavior

Describe event without interpretation. Describe problem without emotive language. Objective in tone. WHAT HAPPENED.

Interpretation

"I thought". Subjective tone. HOW YOU SEE.

Feeling

"I felt" -- adjectives that accurately describe your feelings.

Consequence

What happens to you. What happens to the person you are addressing. What happens to others.

Intention

Where you stand on the issue. Requests of others. Description of how you plan to act in the future.