How to Foster Psychological Safety in Training (and Build a Courageous Learning Culture)

Overcoming the Quiet Room: Why Your Training Needs Psychological Safety

Imagine this: you kick off a training session with a question, and you’re met with hesitant silence. It’s not that your learners have nothing to say – it’s that they don’t feel safe saying it. As a human-centered L&D leader, your first job is to create psychological safety in every training room.

Psychological safety means people speak up with ideas, admit mistakes, or discuss what’s on their minds. In a psychologically safe training environment, participants know it’s okay to “speak truth to power,” ask questions, or share wild ideas. And, when that safety is present, the whole group benefits: research shows it nurtures an environment of open feedback and creative idea-sharing. In short, if you want an engaged, courageous learning culture, psychological safety is the foundation.

Why does this matter so much for learning? Learning is inherently risky – it involves trying new skills, asking questions, and sometimes looking foolish before you get it right. If learners fear being judged or “saying the wrong thing,” they’ll shut down. On the other hand, when people feel safe, they engage. Recent research, including the 2024 APA Work in America Survey, found that employees experiencing psychological safety report higher job satisfaction, better performance, and lower turnover intentions. Google’s Project Aristotle also found that psychological safety was the most important factor in team effectiveness.

Courageous Cultures: Encouraging Every Voice

Source: Courageous Cultures, Karin Hurt and David Dye

So how do we get people to speak up and contribute? That’s exactly what we explored in our book, Courageous Cultures. A Courageous Culture is one where people speak up, share ideas, and contribute as “micro-innovators” every day. In our research with the University of Northern Colorado, we uncovered why employees often stay silent – and it’s rarely because they have nothing to add.

• Fear of no credit or recognition: 56% of employees believed if they offered an idea, they wouldn’t get credit for it.
• Nobody’s asking: 49% said they’re simply not asked for their input regularly.
• Lack of confidence: 40% admitted they don’t feel confident enough to share their ideas.
• “Why bother?” feedback loop: 50% felt that nothing would happen with their suggestion even if they spoke up.
• Leadership resistance: 67% felt their bosses “don’t really want new ideas.”

Our Courageous Cultures framework emphasizes that leaders must consistently invite and reward voice. In fact, psychological safety and courage go hand in hand. Harvard professor Dr. Amy Edmondson, the pioneer of psychological safety (who also wrote the foreword to Courageous Cultures) describes psychological safety and employee courage as “two sides of the same… coin.” In her book The Fearless Organization, she focuses specifically on how leaders can foster psychological safety to drive learning, innovation, and growth.

How Psychological Safety Sparks Engagement, Collaboration, and Bold Ideas

When people feel safe, they’ll venture beyond their comfort zones. Edmondson’s research shows that teams with high psychological safety are more likely to communicate openly, admit errors, ask for help, and experiment. A 2024 Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report also found that psychological safety plays a critical role in improving retention, especially among women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups.

Benefits you can expect:

©Hurt and Dye, 2025. info@letsgrowleaders.com

• Courageous conversations: People ask important questions they might consider “dumb” and raise difficult topics.
• Better collaboration and inclusion: More diverse perspectives come forward.
• More risk-taking and innovation: Safe spaces encourage trying new ideas without fear of punishment.

Here are some practical ways to build psychological safety:

1. Set the tone early: Start with clear expectations and a welcoming environment.
2. Make it okay to be vulnerable: Share your own mistakes and model curiosity.
3. Invite contribution Use structured methods like small group discussions and tactile learning that facilitate easier conversations
4. Respond with regard: Respond to mistakes and disagreements with curiosity, not criticism.
5. Close the loop: Show participants their feedback and ideas lead to action.

The Power of Tactile, Interactive Learning Activities

Interactive, tactile activities like our SynergyStack® card deck system make it easier for learners to engage with important topics. They provide physical prompts that lower social risk and get everyone participating. Instead of staring into space wondering what to say, participants can respond to a card’s clear, structured prompt — making conversations more natural and less intimidating.

Recent research shows that tactile experiences make training better.

• A 2020 study in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology found that when people use multiple senses, including touch, learning outcomes improve.  (Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2020)
• A 2022 study in the International Journal of Training and Development showed that “serious play” and tactile learning activities reduce social anxiety and encourage open idea generation among adult learners. (IJTD, 2022)
• And, research published in Frontiers in Psychology (2021) found that external prompts like cards or physical tools make it feel safer to engage. Frontiers in Psychology, 2021)

Tactile tools create psychological safety in training by:

• Shifting focus from the individual to the activity
• Reducing anxiety through a sense of play
• Encouraging everyone to contribute
• Adapting to a variety of training outcomes and settings

Hands-on methods also boost retention and motivation, particularly in adult learning environments.

Bringing It All Together: Coach Your Culture to Courage

Interactive, tactile activities like our SynergyStack® Team Development System make it easier for learners to engage with important topics. They provide physical prompts that lower social risk and get everyone participating. Instead of wondering what to say, participants can respond to a card’s clearly defined habits, definitions, and phrases — making conversations more natural and less intimidating.

Through your design choices, facilitation skills, and creative activities, you can cultivate a room full of courageous communicators. Your training can be the catalyst that sparks a ripple effect, building a Courageous Culture one conversation at a time.