— How many times have we remained silent when something important needed to be said? How often have we hidden our thoughts, emotions, needs, or truths out of fear of judgment, rejection, conflict, or simply not being heard?
Many of us learn, often from an early age, that staying quiet is safer than speaking up. Over time, those patterns can become so familiar that we hardly notice them. We silence our ideas, our creativity, our boundaries, our needs, and sometimes even our authentic selves. But what is the cost of that silence?
Today, we'll explore how silence shapes our lives, relationships, workplaces, and communities, and how we can begin to recognize and unlearn the unconscious patterns that keep us from fully expressing who we are.
We'll discuss the courage required to speak our truth, the importance of creating spaces where all voices are welcomed, and how authentic self-expression can lead to greater connection, belonging, personal growth, and well-being.
At its heart, this conversation is an invitation to reclaim our voice—not to speak louder, but to speak more honestly, more intentionally, and more fully from who we truly are.
Valeria interviews Elaine Lin Hering — She is the author of “Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully.”
Elaine Lin Hering is a speaker, facilitator, and former Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. She works with organizations and individuals to build skills in communication, collaboration, and conflict management. She has worked on six continents and facilitated executive education at Harvard, Dartmouth, Tufts, UC Berkeley, and UCLA. She has served as the Advanced Training Director for the Harvard Mediation Program and a Managing Partner for a global leadership development firm. She has worked with coal miners at BHP Billiton, micro-finance organizers in East Africa, mental health professionals in China, and senior leadership at the US Department of Commerce. Her clients include American Express, Chevron, Google, Nike, Novartis, PayPal, Pixar, and the Red Cross. She was named a Thinkers50 global management thinker on the rise.
To learn more about Elaine Lin Hering and her work, please visit: https://elainelinhering.com/
