Know your yes.Know your no.
Facilitating practices for individuals, couples, and friends who want relationships to feel easier.
Who this is for
If a few of these sound familiar, you're in the right place.
- You say yes, then quietly resent it.
- When someone asks what you want, you go blank.
- You explain your no until it stops sounding like a no.
- Asking for help feels like a burden you're putting on someone.
- You keep the peace, and lose track of yourself in the process.
- You give and give, and still feel unseen.
- You and someone you love keep having the same argument.
- You replay hard conversations for days afterward.
What gets easier
These are skills, not personality traits. You can practice them, and they get stronger.
Saying no
A clear no, without a three-paragraph explanation or a week of guilt afterward.
Asking for what you want
Saying it plainly, instead of hinting and hoping someone guesses.
Knowing what you want
Noticing your own preferences before you've already agreed to something else.
Hearing no
Taking someone else's no as information, not rejection.
Giving freely
Offering what you actually want to give, so generosity stops turning into resentment.
Receiving well
Letting yourself have something without owing anyone for it.
Session options
Come on your own, with one other person, or with a few friends. Every session starts with a conversation about what you want to work on.
In-person sessions in Knoxville
One-on-one
$150 / 90 minutes
Private practice with me as your partner. We slow everything down so you can notice your own yes and no, and practice saying them out loud.
Pairs
$200 / 90 minutes
For partners, friends, family, or any two people who want to understand each other better. You practice with each other while I guide, so you leave with a shared language you can keep using.
Small groups
$300 / 2 hours, up to 6
Bring the people you already trust. You practice together while I facilitate. A good fit for close friends, roommates, or a small community.
Online sessions
Not in Knoxville, or prefer to work from home? Online sessions use my 6 Agreements framework to help you get clear on what you want from your relationships and how to ask for it.
Each package is four sessions, so we have time to work on something real and see it change.
Four-session package
$450
- Four 60-minute video sessions
- Practices to work on between sessions
- Anywhere you have a good connection
How it works
Sessions are built on the Wheel of Consent®, developed by Dr. Betty Martin. It's a simple framework built on two questions: who is doing the action, and who is it for? Answering those two questions honestly changes how you give, receive, ask, and say no.
We practice through short, structured exercises, some using simple touch like hands and forearms. Every touch is asked for and optional, and talking it through is part of the practice too.
Serving
You do something for someone else, within your limits.
Accepting
Someone does something for you, the way you asked.
Taking
You do something for yourself, with permission.
Allowing
You give someone access, within your limits, for their benefit.
How we work together
Agreements come first. We decide what we're doing before we do it.
Touch is always optional. Every touch is asked for and can be declined, changed, or stopped.
You set the pace. We can do a whole session through conversation if that's what fits.
You leave with practices. Small things to try at home, so the skills keep growing between sessions.
About me
I'm Adam Nicholson, a certified Wheel of Consent® facilitator in Knoxville. I've spent almost ten years in relationship work, and over that time I kept seeing the same thing: most people know what they want long before they feel allowed to say it.
I work with people of all genders and all kinds of relationships. My job is to make the practice clear and safe enough that you can try something new, notice what happens, and take it home with you.
These practices have changed my life more than anything else I've done. My relationships are more honest. My path is clearer. And day to day, life simply feels easier, with a lot more ease and joy in it. I'd love to help you find the same.
Questions
What happens in a session?
We start by talking about what's going on in your life and what you'd like to practice. From there I offer short exercises, and while we do them I pay close attention to what's happening: where you light up, where you hesitate, where you start going along with something you don't quite want.
I'll name what I notice and ask what's true for you, so you can feel your own wants and limits more clearly. Often the most useful moment is a small one, like a pause before a yes, or a request you almost didn't make.
When you reach an edge, the place where something feels new or a little uncomfortable, I'll invite you to stay with it, take a small step toward it, or step back. You always decide which. Nothing is pushed, and stopping counts as practice too. That choice is where the growth happens, because you're learning to trust your own yes and no.
We close by talking through what you noticed and how to bring it into your relationships this week.
Do I have to be touched?
No. Touch is one way to practice, never a requirement. Many of the skills work just as well through conversation.
Can I come with a partner, friend, or family member?
Yes. Pairs sessions are for any two people, and small groups work well for friends or a close community.
Where do sessions happen?
In Fountain City, Knoxville. You'll get the address after you schedule. Online sessions happen over video.
When your yes means yes and your no means no, you stop managing everyone else's reactions. That's where the peace comes from.
A lot of tension in relationships comes from guessing. Guessing what the other person wants. Guessing whether it's okay to ask. Saying yes to keep the peace, then feeling quietly resentful later.
This work replaces guessing with clear agreements. Conversations get shorter. Decisions get simpler. The people around you start to trust your yes, because they've heard your no.
Schedule a session