Are you constantly jumping in with advice only to feel more disconnected from the people you love?

Whether you're navigating hard conversations with your LGBTQ+ teen or sitting down at a tense holiday dinner, the urge to "fix" is often fear in disguise. In this calming and powerful solo episode, Heather Hester unpacks why real connection doesn’t come from solving but from seeing.

✔️ Learn a simple, science-backed practice to shift from reactivity to presence

✔️ Discover how to listen without rushing, rescuing, or retreating

✔️ Use Heather’s LISTEN method to guide any difficult conversation with love

✔️ Get grounded tools to calm your nervous system when tensions rise

Press play now to discover the one shift that builds trust, deepens relationships, and reclaims connection, no fixing required.

Key Takeaways:

1. Fixing is often rooted in fear, not love
2. Silence is not awkward, it’s sacred
3. Listening without correcting builds psychological safety, the key to long-term trust
4. “Do you want advice or just a listening ear?” can transform your relationships
5. You don’t need the right answers, you just need presence

LISTEN Framework Recap:

1. L – Leave space: Breathe before responding
2. I – Inquire gently: Ask what kind of support is needed
3. S – Stay curious: Reflect, don’t assume
4. T – Trust the silence: Let quiet be part of connection
5. E – Empathize, don’t evaluate: Say “That sounds really hard”
6. N – Normalize not knowing: “I don’t have the answer, but I’m here.”

Hi, I’m Heather Hester, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Are you ready to take action? Let's connect and create a personalized plan!

Stay informed - receive my newsletter 2x/month

Invite me to speak at your workshop or event

Read my book, Parenting with Pride.

Share More Human. More Kind. Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Connect [email protected]

Buy Me A Coffee

Watch on YouTube

Listen to *NEW* episodes every Tuesday and Friday!

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to compassion, authenticity, and transformative allyship, especially for those navigating the complexities of parenting LGBTQ kids. Through this podcast, speaking, my writing, and the spaces I create, I help people unlearn bias, embrace their full humanity, and grow their capacity for courageous, compassionate connection.

For parents, allies, and those pioneering a way to lead with love and kindness, I’m here with true, messy, and heart-warming stories, real tools, and grounding support to help you move from fear to fierce, informed action.

Whether you’re listening in, working with me directly, or quietly taking it all in, I see you. And I’m so glad you’re part of this journey.

More Human. More Kind. formerly Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen is a safe and supportive podcast in a heartfelt and empowering space where a mom and advocate offers practical guidance and education to parents and allies, fostering empathy, kindness, love, and strong boundaries while supporting LGBTQ teens and the diverse LGBTQ community—including gay, lesiban, bisexual, trans, transgender, and queer individuals—through conversations about mental health, grief, gender identity, sexual orientation, human rights, social justice, parenting, parent support, and meaningful LGBTQ allyship and allyship in action.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podscribe - https://podscribe.com/privacy