NVC CAN HELP ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:

Personally do you...
•Struggle to maintain your center and not close down your heart in the face of conflict?
•Collapse and withdraw or loose it and say things you regret when you’re judged or criticised?
•Lash out with blame when you think you have been wronged?
•Loose track of your own needs when trying to help, please or avoid conflict?
•Cruelly judge yourself based on how you think you should be?
•Get frustrated when you speak your truth to someone and it is received as blame?
•Feel daunted by the idea of offering empathy to people when they do or say things you can’t stand?
•Not sure how to speak up to that person that gets on your nerves without exploding?

In your group...
•Is the inspiration of your shared purpose getting lost amidst communication breakdowns?
•Are people getting defensive and taking what others say too personally?
•Find that the group collaboration suffers from power struggles or one person “taking over”?
•Do you cringe at the thought of another draining meeting or “process session”?
•Do you find certain people’s voices are not getting heard?
•Is feedback between people leaving a sour resentment?
•Are you wanting more group connection, but not sure where to start? 
•Is the forward movement getting bogged down by focusing on what’s not working?
•Find the consciousness gets lost in the pain of conflicts?

Would you like to be confident in communicating your needs while also equally honoring the needs of others?

NVC GIVES US CONCRETE SKILLS TO:

•Listen for the deeper meaning in what others are communicating even when it sounds like judgment or blame
•Stay centered and compassionate in times of conflict
•Transform heated reactions that separate you in to conscious responses that connect you
•Unravel habitual thinking and emotions that limit and constrict you
•Speak your truth transparently with full responsibility and compassion
•Create deeper self-understanding and trust in yourself in the hardest of times
•Balance your own needs with those of others and the group’s needs as a whole
•Make empowered choices through being connected to your core values

ABOUT THE NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION PROCESS:

There are essentially four parts to the process, each of which are pointers for our awareness:

making OBSERVATIONS~ cultivating a neutral witness,
expressing FEELINGS~ speaking from the present experience in our body,
recognizing our NEEDS~ getting at the heart of what is important to us, and
making REQUESTS~ finding actions that will enrich life and serve us in living what is most important to us.

NVC is a dance between three areas of focus: self-awareness, expressing honestly, and receiving others empathically.

THE PROCESS SUPPORTS A SHIFT IN CONSCIOUSNESS

This is a shift from power over to power-with, from scarcity to abundance, from diagnosis to self responsible authenticity, from punishment/reward and good/bad to understanding the needs we are trying to meet, and from rebellion or submission to making choices based on needs.  NVC offers us a pathway for taking full responsibility for what we contribute to life. 

THE PREMISES OF NVC

-Everything that we do is an attempt to get our needs met
-Our feelings point to whether our needs are met or unmet
-People naturally find joy in contributing to others’ wellbeing 
-We are each responsible for how we respond to what others do or say
-As human beings we all share the same universal needs
-There is enough in the world for all to have their basic needs met
-Moving from right/wrong, good/bad thinking and focusing on understanding the needs we and others are trying to meet in what we are doing supports compassion and peace

THE ROOTS OF NVC

NVC was developed by Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D. after an in depth life exploration of what leads us to violence and what leads us to act from our compassionate nature.  This exploration included a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and an in depth study of various spiritual traditions and perennial wisdom teachings. Marshall is founder of the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC) which is an international organization that works on various social change initiatives and certifies NVC Trainers. This communication process is being taught to people in schools, governments, warring nations and communities around the world.  You can find more about Marshall, NVC trainers and CNVC at www.cnvc.org. 

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Read the first chapter of Marshall’s book- Nonviolent Communication~ A Language of Life

MY APPROACH TO FACILITATING LEARNING

Experiential learning~ exploring personal experience in relation to the practices being shared, using demonstrations, role plays, visual aids, exercises involving movement, games and the "NVC Dancefloors" * to address different learning styles

Group relationship~ interactive partner and group exercises, learning from practicing with others, and working with the present group dynamic

Co-creation~ feedback is requested from the group on an ongoing basis about relevancy and how needs are being met

Real Life Material~ I share from my own life challenges, growth and insights through re-enacting interactions, answering questions candidly, and sharing stories in relation to the topic

Resources~ Handouts related to the area of focus, questions to evoke self reflection and exercises to take away for integrating what we practice

* The NVC Dancefloors are interactive maps for learning NVC that use movement and visuals to support a fuller integration of the process. They were developed by Certified NVC Trainers Bridget Belgrave and Gina Lawrie~ www.GnB.org.uk