Would you like to speak up, speak your truth with confidence and be understood?

Are you in search of deeper, more meaningful human connections? Do you sometimes find yourself struggling to read others’ cues? Do you have difficulty conveying your message? Have you given up on conversation that flows naturally? Or do you replay exchanges over and over in your mind, wondering what you could have said differently? No matter what type of recurring communication problems you’re experiencing, one thing is certain: The common denominator is you. That doesn’t mean you have to punish or blame yourself—or feel shame. What it means is that you now have an opportunity to take responsibility for any communications that are less than you want them to be.

Burge Smith-Lyons is founder and CEO of Essence of Being and the Conscious Leadership Academy. For more than 37 years, she has helped thousands of men, women, children and companies globally and has taught live transformations workshops on 6 continents with healing, self-development, communication techniques, relationships, prosperity & abundance, team building, and leadership development. She specializes in helping people identify their “Bubble Talk” — subconscious negative self-talk that blocks them from achieving what they want in life. She is considered a conscious communication expert and has supported people and companies to operate more efficiently and with more empathy and success.

How much longer are you going to settle for being misunderstood? How much longer are you going to blame yourself and others for arguments and communication failures? Your power is in this moment. You have the power to commit to adopting a spirit of empathy and cooperation. You have the power to discover how you can speak your truth with compassion, without having to feel responsible for others’ reactions. You have the power to connect, for real.