12/22/2025
Being aware of your communication
December 17, 2025 - blog
Here we are in Christmas week. Writing about communication feels especially fitting, as many of us will be gathering with family and friends over the coming days. The holidays can be joyful—and they can also be stressful. With stress often comes less patience, a shorter fuse, and more opportunities for misunderstanding.
We’ve written many blogs about how you get to choose your reaction to any situation. And it always comes back to self—how you respond. Communication is not about controlling others; it’s about empowering yourself. It’s about taking care of yourself, gathering more information so you can better understand, taking ownership of your participation, honoring yourself, and communicating effectively.
How you say something matters. Tone of voice, body language, and word choice profoundly influence how a message is received and the lasting impact it has on another person. Often, the how of communication carries more weight than the what.
When you are conversing with someone, the other person’s perception of the message becomes their reality—regardless of your original intent. That doesn’t mean you are wrong, but it does mean that awareness, presence, and curiosity are essential if understanding is the goal.
The invitation during this season is to slow down. To pause before reacting. To listen with the intention to understand rather than to defend. To ask clarifying questions. To remember that everyone is bringing their own experiences, expectations, and emotional history into the room.
Effective communication doesn’t require perfection—it requires mindfulness. And especially during the holidays, a little more patience, compassion, and self-awareness can go a long way toward creating connection instead of conflict.
As you move through gatherings this season, consider this simple practice:
Before responding, pause and take one conscious breath. Let that breath create a small space between what was said and how you choose to respond.
Ask yourself:
What am I feeling right now?
What might the other person be experiencing?
What response would honor both of us?
Remember, you don’t need to fix, convince, or defend. Sometimes the most powerful form of communication is presence—listening without interruption, speaking with intention, and choosing kindness when it would be easier to react.
This season, give yourself permission to communicate in a way that feels aligned, respectful, and true to who you are becoming. Small moments of awareness can soften conversations, strengthen connection, and create a more peaceful experience—for you and for those around you.
Listening to understand, in the flow,
Deb