For each of the situations below, prepare an assertive confrontation message. Decide how you will phrase the basic message and further decide which additional components of the message you will use.

1. Jeremy can't seem to keep from peering over the cubicle next to him and talking with Sylvia, who is trying to concentrate on her work and the enormous number of customer emails to which she must respond. Jeremy is the senior customer service representative and Sylvia is relatively new to her position. Though initially helpful, he has become somewhat of a nuisance to Sylvia and is also a little critical of the way Sylvia does her job. Prior attempts to encourage Jeremy to be less intrusive have been unsuccessful.

2. Manuel has become a broken record. For weeks now, he has come into your office to complain about something. Often, his complaints have to do with the way his co-workers are performing. Sometimes, he complains about a specific co-worker and subtly implies how superior his performance is to the co-worker. He then suggests how underpaid he is. Occasionally, he has even threatened to quit and find a better position elsewhere. Manuel is a good performer, but on average no better or worse than his co-workers. You would like to pay everyone more, but budget and market considerations don't allow it. You further do not feel additional pay is warranted for Manuel in comparison to hi co-workers. And you want the complaining to stop.