CANDOR Communication
Make clear requests. Stay connected.
Connect facts, feelings, and needs to clear requests and meaningful outcomes. Practice listening and responding in feedback, boundaries, and recognition.
The CANDOR practice
Describe what happened without adding a judgment or assuming a motive.
Notice the emotional response and check rather than assume what another person feels.
Identify the need or value that explains why this matters.
Ask for a specific, observable action or state a clear boundary.
Explain what the request supports or protects, without using pressure or guilt.
Pause, listen, and choose your response as the conversation unfolds.
How the workshop works
Multiple ways to engage: spoken examples, visual guidance, written reflection, and choices for participation.
Try the tools with others, with room to participate at your own pace.
Explore different perspectives and the situations people actually face.
Use a real or hypothetical conversation to practice a request, a boundary, or meaningful recognition.
Rehearse, receive feedback, and try again in a supportive setting.
Notice your response and practice staying grounded under pressure.
Ways to learn
“CANDOR is a practice,
not a script.”