How to protect your voice

Today, speaking your mind openly is either considered brave, or reckless. But it shouldn’t be.

Yet in the current climate, a poorly worded post or expressing a less popular opinion, can lead to reputational ruin, as well as threaten careers and friendships. Even silence isn’t necessarily going to keep you safe. After all, some might consider it “complicity.”

This isn’t something that merely affects celebrities or politicians, it can touch any of us.

But for those of us who value open dialogue, intellectual honesty, and curiosity—we can become more resilient and build a healthier culture for discourse.

Here’s how:

1. Build a like-minded (and open-minded) community

One of the most effective ways to insulate yourself from social or professional backlash is to surround yourself with people who value open inquiry, intellectual curiosity, and good faith disagreement. Build your own community. Start small, with your own social circle.

They don’t need to be people who agree with you. On the contrary, disagreement can be a healthy way to hone our own views and get closer to the truth of things. What you want on your side are the people who can handle disagreement, those who welcome diverse viewpoints and don’t feel the need to rush and destroy the lives of those whose views differ from theirs. Those who won’t immediately octricize you for disagreements.

If you can’t trust your friends to assume good intent and are afraid to be honest with them, then your friendship is not authentic in the first place. If you can’t be yourself around them, or they disappear the moment you express something inconvenient, then perhaps they aren’t worth keeping in your inner circle.

2. Strive for financial independence

This is easier said than done, perhaps, but one of the biggest reasons people silence themselves is because they are afraid of having their livelihood ripped away. Those with dependants feel that risk even more.

Most people can survive losing a few friends, but becoming unemployed? That takes more than emotional resilience.

If possible, work toward building your own business, or a freelance career with multiple income streams. That way you’ll be less vulnerable to mob pressures or overzealous HR departments.

Financial independence—even if it’s enough to cover your basic needs— earns you a lot freedom.

3. Choose your battles and know what you’re willing to lose

Convictions come with costs. If you’re going to stand your ground, know ahead of time what you’re willing to risk. Your job? Certain friendships? Social standing? Not every battle is worth it—but some absolutely are.

This is about choosing your hills wisely. Not every disagreement needs to become a war, not every hill is worth dying on, but when the stakes matter to you, it becomes easier to act without regret.

As my acting teacher, Mr. Modica, used to say: “When in doubt, repeat [he was referring to a repetition exercise]. But when not in doubt, don’t repeat, don’t shut up, DO.”

4. Educate for critical thinking

Outrage spreads fast when people stop questioning narratives or lack the tools to evaluate situations rationally. In other words, emotional reasoning.

This point is both relevant for ourselves, and systemically.

We need more education in logic, critical thinking, and the Socratic method—tools that encourage questioning assumptions and testing ideas.

We could also all benefit from some conflict mediation training, peer counseling, or even learning Stoicism to help keep us grounded.

Even unexpected disciplines like theater and acting can help. Why? Because stepping into another person’s shoes—even as a fictional character—encourages people to to better understand them, fostering empathy and allowing them to consider alternative perspectives.

5. Create better spaces for dialogue

If we want a healthier culture, we need more forums for hard conversations—with rules that encourage debate, not destruction. That means, not talking over others, or using tactics like name-calling, strawmanning, moral grandstanding, or performative outrage.

This doesn’t have to start big. It can be as basic as a 1:1 conversations, but ideally can grow into discussion groups. Living Room Conversations, for example, can provide resources for holding space for better conversations and strengthen communities.

We can also curate more shows, podcasts, and public panels where contentious topics are discussed but participants agree ahead of time to commit to best-efforts to follow ground rules like good faith engagement, listening before reacting, and assuming positive intent.

We need to normalize this in our culture over “destroying” someone.

6. Establish, support, and lean on organizations that support speech

If you do get targeted unfairly, you don’t have to navigate this alone.

Organizations like FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) can provide legal and media support for free speech cases.

Other organizations worth checking out include:

• PEN America (Free Expression Program)

• Heterodox Academy

• Academic Freedom Alliance

• Open Inquiry Network (formerly Open Inquiry Project)

• ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)

• National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC)

• Braver Angels

If you’re in trouble, know that there are resources available. And if you’re not, give them some support.

I’ll also add…if you’re not in a position to speak openly, support those who do, who share your thoughts.

7. Pick your moment

It’s much harder to get a clear message across when you’re in reactive mode. Instead, take the time to reflect about what matters most to you, what you want to say, and how you hope it is received and by whom. Then take the time to craft your words so it has the best chance of being understood.

Have some advice of your own? Feel free to share in the comments!

If you enjoyed this post, you might find my book—No Apologies: How to Find and Free your Voice in the Age of Outrage—of interest too!

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