Without this skill, you can’t maintain a balance of power, which is so essential in day-to-day relationships.
The issue of finding the courage to assert oneself in a way that is gentle and non-inflammatory is largely about the need for skill both to protect one’s boundaries and to be honest with others about what you are really thinking and feeling. In this way, one can graciously retain self-respect in the face of intimidation, co-coercion and domination, without resorting to resentment or belligerence, or living reactively.