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Assertive Communication at Work: Word-for-word scripts for speaking up, pushing back, and being heard
Most assertiveness books hand you a theory. This book hands you the scripts you need to speak up at work — and actually be heard.
Neil Avery has spent two decades inside organizations, on both sides of the management line. His books are built around one most workplace friction comes from not having the words ready when it counts. That is a solvable problem.
Assertive Communication at Work gives you 14 chapters of word-for-word scripts for the moments when you freeze, over-explain, or say nothing at all. Each chapter covers one specific situation. You get the scripts, the recovery moves for when a script does not land the first time, and a brief explanation of why the language works — so the move sticks.
Situations
Speaking up in meetings when you keep getting cut off
Making your point land — not just making it
Setting workload limits without the negotiation collapsing
Advocating for yourself at performance review time
Asking for the raise or title you have earned
Saying no to more work without feeling guilty
Disagreeing with your boss without torching the relationship
Navigating cross-functional friction with no reporting authority
Asserting yourself in writing and on video calls
Recovering when a conversation goes sideways
The scripts are written for the individual contributor — the person who is not the boss, who needs to speak up without sounding aggressive, push back without burning the bridge, and hold their ground without drama.
If you already know you need to be more assertive at work, you do not need another chapter on why. You need the words.
Neil Avery has spent two decades inside organizations, on both sides of the management line. His books are built around one most workplace friction comes from not having the words ready when it counts. That is a solvable problem.
Assertive Communication at Work gives you 14 chapters of word-for-word scripts for the moments when you freeze, over-explain, or say nothing at all. Each chapter covers one specific situation. You get the scripts, the recovery moves for when a script does not land the first time, and a brief explanation of why the language works — so the move sticks.
Situations
Speaking up in meetings when you keep getting cut off
Making your point land — not just making it
Setting workload limits without the negotiation collapsing
Advocating for yourself at performance review time
Asking for the raise or title you have earned
Saying no to more work without feeling guilty
Disagreeing with your boss without torching the relationship
Navigating cross-functional friction with no reporting authority
Asserting yourself in writing and on video calls
Recovering when a conversation goes sideways
The scripts are written for the individual contributor — the person who is not the boss, who needs to speak up without sounding aggressive, push back without burning the bridge, and hold their ground without drama.
If you already know you need to be more assertive at work, you do not need another chapter on why. You need the words.
159 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2026
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