@vicktipnes: You're not bad at communicating. You're surrounded by the wrong people. Who you're around is how you'll sound. Get around people who interrupt constantly? You start yelling just to be heard. Stay in conflict long enough? You go quiet just to survive. Even sincerity feels risky in a room full of sarcasm. The fix isn't a communication course. It's an audit of your circle. Look around right now: who in your circle is raising your thinking, and who's just raising your defenses?