Zane and José are assigned to work on a school project together. After a week Jose gets very frustrated, because he feels like Zane isn’t doing his part. During lunch, José corners Zane and tells him that he is lazy and deserves a 0 on this assignment. What could José do to be more assertive in his communication to Zane?
A) tell the teacher that Zane hasn't done his fair share and deserves a 0
B) say the same thing but in class so the teacher can hear it
C) tell Zane that he feels like the work is unfair and discuss how they can split up the work more fairly

What Jose did was to approach Zane and accuse him of being lazy. This approach would have not achieved much as it was a blame based and done in an unfriendly, hostile manner. Zane would have probably backed off totally, even if the accusation was justified.

Jose should have tried to talk to Zane in private first. He should have explained his feelings towards Zane's participation and they should have tried to work out a solution together. This way, neither of them would have felt attacked and a fair solution to their problems might have been found.