Psychological Safety: What It Is and How to Create It
In a world full of loud opinions…
A world where people are all-too-quick to tear others down, and berate thoughts and ideas, it doesn’t always feel safe to share your beliefs, perspectives, or be YOU.
I’ve held myself back many times on a comment or speaking up with an idea because I didn’t feel safe sharing my viewpoint and perspective.
Being someone committed to creating and fostering psychological safety is a gift. It’s one of the most powerful and underrated elements behind effective marketing and relationship building. In this article and podcast episode, we get into psychoglocal safety as a way to build trust and be a person people want to keep returning to.
Psychological Safety is the feeling that you won’t be punished, judged, or shamed when you show up honestly. When you take risks, when you make a mistake, or share opinions, thoughts, ideas, when you ask for help. Even when you might challenge the status quo, you can still do so without worrying you’ll be attacked or ripped apart.
In Your Business, Psychological Safety Looks Like:
- Helping people feel seen, heard, and understood.
- Removing hidden pressure and manipulation.
- People feeling welcomed to share their own voice, experience, and go at their own pace.
Perhaps you wonder why this matters in the first place?
- It’s a major trust builder
- The world needs more safe, steady, compassionate voices in it.
- Psychological safety inspires real engagement and lasting connection
- It lays a foundation for authentic collaboration and long-term relationships
When you and what you’re creating feel safe, people open up. Not just to you… but also to themselves. You’re inviting them to get honest with themselves and others.
Build Psychological Safety by Using Inclusive, Non-Judgmental Language
The goal here is not to shame, polarize, or paint ourselves as “better than” throughout our business.
Avoid absolutes or shaming statements:
- If you’re not doing THIS ONE THING I DO, you don’t want success badly enough!
- Only amateurs still do this terrible thing
- Either you’re serious about your business or you’re just playing pretend!!!
- Real entrepreneurs wake up at 5am. Period.
- No excuses. Just results.
- If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not growing!
I mean, come on. Ew. These statements are polarizing and only offer one right path. If you’re not on it, you’re depicted as less than or lazy. There’s ZERO room for nuance, individual context, neurodiversity, or different values.
These are sometimes disguised as motivational quotes or inspiration, but I find them to just inspire shame and pressure. They scream guilt and comparison, not change.
INSTEAD, we want to be using words that invite DIALOGUE, not debate.
Here’s what I’ve found helpful – what do you think?
Take what works, leave the rest – which jumps out at you?
Have you ever felt this way?
You’re remaining open-minded, humble, and want to engage in a conversation. As a result, people WANT to open up and feel safer to do so.
Build Psychological Safety by Validating and Normalizing Struggles
Ever notice how fast websites take you from a barrage of pain points to the fact that you’re broken and bingo… here’s the solution (spoiler alert: it just so happens to be theirs)?
There’s so much content out there that preys on insecurity, makes a buck when others feel broken and less than.
You can be different.
You can show them that you understand what they’re going through. And it’s normal, it’s valid, it’s ok. What they’re experiencing is not a sign they’re broken.
A little empathy goes a long way.
Another way of offering this is to not diagnose, assume, or declare why someone feels the way they do.
Instead of: “You’re stuck because you don’t have THIS thing I offer and help with…”
Try: “I can see you’re stuck, and it’s part of the whole creative journey! Let’s talk about potential ways forward, together!”
When you do speak to or emphasize pain points, bring in understanding and compassion. Not feelings of shame or being behind.
Build Pyschological Safety by Inviting not Demanding
I run for the hills when I hear a “should” or a “must”.
This is a switch I’ve been working on my language, too. If I catch myself saying, “You should…” I work to switch it quickly to a “You could…” or “You might try…”
It’s a good reminder throughout our messaging too! Could not should. Invite with a might. Because your way isn’t always right for them!
Build Psychological Safety by Being Transparent About Your Intentions
I did an episode on NOT being sheisty in our marketing, and this falls into that category of anti-sheistiness.
In essence, this is about having clear intentions and no hidden agenda. Not being slippery, slimy, squirrely, or deceptive.
Additionally, it’s not delivering false promises or lying. In a nutshell: being real, transparent, honest, and clear.
We’re all over the clickbaiting webinars, optins, offers, we just what who it’s for, who it’s not, what you’ll get, and what you won’t.
Plain and simple. Transparency is respectful and kind.
Build Psychological Safety By Encouraging (not Manipulating)
Fear-based marketing is manipulative marketing. I’m out on things that try to make me afraid to buy something.
I invite you to ditch it in your own business, as well.
What Psychological Safety Might Look Like in Your Content:
- A newsletter that feels like a conversation with a friend, not a sales pitch
- A sales page that says “If this isn’t the right time for you, no problem” and means it.
- A podcast that holds space for nuance, contradiction, and change, not certainty or rigid formulas.
- A community space where it’s okay to ask “beginner” questions.
- An Instagram caption that shares something tender and opens up a conversation, without virtue signaling or moralizing.
These little things seem subtle, but the more you add them in, the more they add up. The more you see people, the more they feel safe to be seen. The more you become a safe and relatable person to follow and interact with.
Reflection Questions:
- Where might your messaging or website, or even conversations with people be unknowingly creating pressure?
- Pay attention and notice to when YOU engage with certain kinds of content, notice how you feel, when it feels icky, and then how can you reverse-engineer the feelings you want to evoke?
- What would it look like to show up as a safe, steady presence, not a persuasive one?
When you create from a place of openness, respect, and invitation, you become the kind of voice people return to, not just for your expertise and answers, but also, for peace.
