Push Back: Assert Yourself in Relationships

By: Monica Johnson, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Monica Johnson

As children, many of us aren’t taught the importance of assertiveness. Which means, as adults, we often become frustrated in interpersonal relationships because we don’t know how to express our needs, desires, or expectations. That frustration can lead to worst-case scenarios, like acting out in ways that don’t match our character, or even creating abusive dynamics in our relationships.

Holding boundaries and asserting yourself are crucial skills for maintaining healthy relationships and a sense of self-respect. In Push Back: Assert Yourself in Relationships, professional clinical psychologist Dr. Monica Johnson teaches you how to clearly define your limits, communicate those limits to others, and foster mutual respect and understanding in your everyday interactions. Over eight lectures, you’ll examine the social and psychological factors that make assertiveness so difficult; the pros and cons of passive, passive-aggressive, aggressive, and assertive communication styles; ways to structure your sentences when asking for what you want; the importance of context and nuance in interpersonal communication; and much more.

Dr. Johnson’s Audible Original is an insightful, empowering guidebook for anyone on the path to becoming a more assertive person. Over time, and with practice, you’ll find yourself more skillful at pushing back than you could ever have imagined.

©2024 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2024 Audible Originals, LLC.

Covers a difficult topic in simple terms with common language and examples.

Delivered with a pleasant even tone the professor describes ways that everyone regardless of communication style can improve their ways of communicating in order to be more clear, respectful and have healthier boundaries.

While I noticed that a previous reviewer said that this "went all race" I disagree and think that there wasn't much mention of race at all and that this topic was described so that anyone could learn from it and apply it to their life. I suspect that comment was rooted in personal bias and is not actually reflective of the material.

I would recommend this to anyone who is wanting to improve their communication and negotiation skills.

Communication skills

This is an amazing audiobook. I recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their communication skills.

Fantastic Course

"Push Back: Assert Yourself in Relationships" by Monica Johnson on Great Courses is fantastic. This 2 1/2-hour book is a great overview of assertiveness, passive/aggressiveness, passiveness, and aggressiveness. I thought I knew a lot about assertiveness, and I still learned a lot.

I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to improve their life and/or communication skills. While much of this is geared toward personal relationships, there is still much that can be applied to work-life, which is why I was listening to it. In my decades of working, I have learned that poor communication is the one thing that most workplaces have. I'm currently dealing with an aggressive coworker and a passive-aggressive coworker, and this book has taught me a lot on how to deal with both of these people.

I learned about DEAR MAN and two other acronyms that I plan to look up to incorporate into my communication skills.

I would listen to this book again in a heartbeat.

Monica Johnson delivers her course at the right pace and the right tone.

The content was mostly likely scripted, making it concise and thorough, which I appreciate. However, it was delivered in a fresh and appealing way - not like someone reading off a page.

I'm so happy with these short books from Great Courses that are available as part of Audible Premium. They are making me a huge fan of Audible.

I enjoyed this and found it helpful

It would have been great if it were longer and more in depth but this is a pretty precise and comprehensive little course. It is pleasantly and clearly read to us as well.

Relationship dialogue 101

Short & sweet book condensed with many useful tips on how to communicate better in relationships. Highly recommended.