It can be difficult to know whether to speak up or stay silent in conversations, be they in person, online, in your workplace, or with your family and friends.

In those moments of uncertainty, I find it useful to have some prompts to help me navigate through my contradictory my thoughts and reach a decision.

Here they are: 

• Is my silence causing harm in some way (either directly or indirectly)?
• Do I feel emotionally triggered by this topic? If so, have I attended to my emotional response first before replying?
• How would I feel if I was watching someone else walk away from this conversation?
• Have I thought about this topic before now?
• Is this something I have any depth of knowledge about?
• Am I operating out of my lane right now, or is this something we should all be discussing together, as a community?
• If I stay silent, will people assume consent with their ideas? If so, am I comfortable with that?

If you’ve more prompts to recommend or want to share what these prompts sparked for you, come on over to our IG account where all the conversation takes place.