Apply communication skills, including assertiveness, refusal, negotiation and conflict resolution, to protect health in challenging interpersonal situations

What this dot point is asking

WACE expects application, not just labels. A strong answer identifies the pressure in the scenario, names the appropriate communication skill, describes specifically what the person would say or do, and explains how it protects their health and the relationship. Marks reward the matched, applied response rather than a list of skill names.

Assertiveness and communication styles

Communication styles sit on a spectrum. A passive style avoids conflict by giving in, hiding true feelings and letting others decide, which protects the relationship but not the person's own health or wishes. An aggressive style gets what it wants by overriding, blaming or intimidating others, which may protect the person's wish but damages relationships and can escalate harm. An assertive style is the healthy middle: stating your needs, feelings and limits clearly and respectfully, while acknowledging the other person.

Assertiveness protects health because it lets a person uphold boundaries (around alcohol, drugs, sexual activity, risk-taking or unfair treatment) without either surrendering or escalating. Using clear statements that name how you feel and what you want, holding eye contact and a calm steady tone, are practical markers of assertive communication.

Refusal skills

Refusal skills are specific techniques for saying no to pressure while keeping the situation manageable. They include stating the refusal clearly and repeating it if pressured, giving a brief honest reason, suggesting an alternative, and removing yourself from the situation if needed. Effective refusal is firm but not aggressive, so the person resists the pressure (to drink, to take a risk, to do something unsafe) without provoking conflict. Practising refusal in advance raises self-efficacy, making it easier to use under real pressure.

Negotiation

Negotiation is used when two people have different wants and a shared solution is possible. It involves listening to the other person's position, stating your own, and working toward an outcome both can accept. In a health context, negotiation might settle how a group spends an evening safely, or how partners agree on protection or boundaries. Successful negotiation protects health while keeping the relationship intact, because neither party simply loses.

Conflict resolution

Conflict resolution settles disagreements before they cause harm. Useful steps include staying calm, listening to understand the other view, focusing on the problem rather than attacking the person, looking for common ground, and agreeing on a way forward. Resolving conflict well prevents the stress, relationship breakdown and sometimes violence that unresolved conflict can cause, all of which affect physical and mental health. Knowing when to walk away or seek help is part of the skill.

Choosing the right skill

The skills overlap and the situation decides which leads. Direct pressure to do something unsafe calls for assertiveness and refusal. A difference in wants that can be reconciled calls for negotiation. An escalating disagreement calls for conflict resolution. Strong answers read the scenario, choose the fitting skill, and show the specific words or actions that protect health.

How this maps to the exam

Expect a stimulus describing peer pressure, a disagreement or a risky social situation. Identify the pressure, select the appropriate communication skill, describe specifically how the person would respond, and explain how this protects their health while managing the relationship.