Communication has a cost. You pay for it if you speak up and you pay for it if you don’t. But the cost is always different. And sometimes, it’s hard to tell which will cost you more. Here we explore the cost of silence versus the cost of honesty, discuss how avoidance masquerades as silence and evaluate who we’re really protecting by not speaking up. Spoiler alert…we aren’t protecting someone else. In this episode, I invite you to take stock of your communication or lack thereof this year and encourage you to make changes for 2026. Because either way, there is a payoff for speaking up and staying quiet. One just serves you more than the other. Have a happy and blessed New Year.