Fear Not & Speak Up! Why You Need to Embrace Offence

Fearlessly Challenge Opinion: The Low Anxiety Guide to Confrontation

We’ve all been there. You bite your tongue in disagreement to someone’s comment, not wanting to offend or risk audience disapproval. Sometimes it’s the less obvious self-restrictions that prevent our voice being heard.

It’s the subtle hesitations, the carefully crafted neutral responses, or the strategically omitted anecdotes that contribute to the overall muting of our voices.

Why? Well, as it turns out, it often boils down to a fear of offence, a fear of stirring the pot and the anxiety that comes with the risk of being on the receiving end of audience disapproval.

You will remember a time when an authority figure addressed the room and asked if anyone has anything to say. The room is filled with a deafening silence. You know secretly everyone in that room disagrees but no one is speaking up! Fear is the reason but the root cause could fill a psychiatrist’s appointment book for years! So let’s skip the couch and instead look at how understanding the values of debate can solve these issues.

Caveat: Extreme prejudice and incitement of violence are the exception to this article. i.e. any in violation of our Human Rights and Right to Freedom…