The Purpose

The purpose of our Say Nothing At All Or Say It Nicely? workshop is to equip participants with practical communication skills to discern when to speak up or when to remain silent.

The Problem

Many problems may arise from the belief “if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.” Take a moment to think about various scenarios in your life when you wanted to say something, but you held yourself back. How did it make you feel when someone’s comment or behavior:

• Insulted you but you said nothing?
• Seemed racist or biased but you said nothing?
• Caused you discomfort but you said nothing?
• Appeared inappropriate but you said nothing?
• Caused you irritation but you said nothing?

These offensive incidents may be perceived as valid and/or become a common occurrence if you remain silent. You may be too insecure or hesitant to attempt to correct fallacies and misconceptions that cause you discomfort. This reluctance can allow the negative feelings and thoughts to fester, morphing into resentment, anger, rage, or shame. Carrying negativity like this with you can ultimately cause your mental health to deteriorate.

Remaining silent sends the wrong message to the other person and the situation may even escalate to bullying, harassment, or misconduct. How can you be certain whether the comment or conduct had harmful intent, or was just an innocent mistake?

The practice of remaining silent when things bother us negatively impacts our outcomes ranging among poor performance, low self-esteem, isolation, and separation from others.

When is it appropriate to apply the belief ‘if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all’? As an alternative, we can shift the belief to “if you have nothing nice to say, say it nicely, for the right reasons, to the right person, at the right time, in the right way.”

By speaking your truth negative outcomes may result, but these are a chance to liberate yourself from those who do not share your values and principles. It helps you to grow, and most importantly, move on.

The Program Outline

Participant Learning Objectives

The Benefit