A room’s acoustics can change whether people feel heard or exposed.

Sound decides more about a conversation than most people credit. A hard, echoing room makes every word public and every pause loud, so people say less and say it more carefully. A soft room with something absorbing the edges lets a quiet voice be enough, which is often what somebody needs before they will say a difficult thing.

Think about where you hold the conversations that matter. A corner, a car, a kitchen, anywhere with soft surfaces and no audience, will do more work than any amount of good intention. If someone is hard to hear in a place, move rather than asking them to speak up.