Courses in Nonviolent Communication
To see when these courses are running go to our Calendar. For information about booking and course fees go to Bookings. Scroll down for more courses.
Nonviolent Communication Foundation Training
This 2 day course covers the fundamental principles and methods used in Nonviolent Communication. The course will:
Learn How to:
- Present the concepts and tools used in Nonviolent Communication
- Introduce you to the steps of the Nonviolent Communication process for use in expressing yourself, listening to others and connecting compassionately to yourself
- Give you sufficient information and practise to put the steps together and start using nonviolent Communication in your daily life
- Be run in an experiential style working with examples from participants' lives
- Be challenging, moving, supportive and fun
Learn How to:
- Speak up and express yourself in ways that are more likely to be understood
- Build relationships based on compassion and understanding
- Be assertive and transform conflicts into opportunities for building connection and trust
- Understand and see the humanity in those we dislike and disagree with
- Hear others with empathy and understanding, even when they express themselves in a hostile manner
- Get clear about what you really want and make specific doable requests
- Recognise and change habitual reactions such as blaming, rejection, criticism and shame
- Recognise when your buttons get pushed and help change your habitual reactions
- Stay in dialogue even when things get tricky
- Care for others without getting burnt out
Self-Compassion Series (6 sessions)
Self criticism, negative inner talk and lack of self-esteem and confidence are major factors that impact our mental wellbeing.
I have found self-compassion to be one of the keys to well-being. As I grew more compassionate towards myself I found more inner peace, presence and surprisingly, more empowerment. Being compassionate does not mean always being soft and giving. It means having your own back with love and kindness. Being your own best friend. And when we have that kind of support and understanding in our lives it can help us to step forward with courage and to care for ourselves, in our daily lives, in our work and in our relationships.
Once the compassion for self starts to flow we can begin to get curious about others and what might be going on for them and that helps to nurture our relationships too.
The Self-Compassion Series will support you to accompany yourself and others with compassion and kindness. It offers a different way for us to relate to and understand ourselves and provides the groundwork for building self-connection and self-worth so that when we step into dialogue with others we can do this from a grounded place that supports us to hold our needs as precious whilst we hear the of needs of others and step into connection and dialogue.
This series is for you if you would like to be kinder to yourself, become your own best friend, understand yourself better and stand in your own power. It is suitable for those who have covered the basics of NVC and want to deepen their practice and capacity to connect with themselves compassionately.
During the course we will explore:
Self criticism, negative inner talk and lack of self-esteem and confidence are major factors that impact our mental wellbeing.
I have found self-compassion to be one of the keys to well-being. As I grew more compassionate towards myself I found more inner peace, presence and surprisingly, more empowerment. Being compassionate does not mean always being soft and giving. It means having your own back with love and kindness. Being your own best friend. And when we have that kind of support and understanding in our lives it can help us to step forward with courage and to care for ourselves, in our daily lives, in our work and in our relationships.
Once the compassion for self starts to flow we can begin to get curious about others and what might be going on for them and that helps to nurture our relationships too.
The Self-Compassion Series will support you to accompany yourself and others with compassion and kindness. It offers a different way for us to relate to and understand ourselves and provides the groundwork for building self-connection and self-worth so that when we step into dialogue with others we can do this from a grounded place that supports us to hold our needs as precious whilst we hear the of needs of others and step into connection and dialogue.
This series is for you if you would like to be kinder to yourself, become your own best friend, understand yourself better and stand in your own power. It is suitable for those who have covered the basics of NVC and want to deepen their practice and capacity to connect with themselves compassionately.
During the course we will explore:
- How to accompany yourself with warmth and compassion
- Connecting with yourself and taking action to meet needs
- Assertiveness and asking for what you need
- How to never to hear criticism ever again
- Setting healthy and connected boundaries
- Connecting with your power
- Moving into dialogue with others whilst holding self-compassion
Empathic Presence: Empathy Deepening
'To listen is to continually give up all expectation and to give our attention, completely and freshly, to what is before us, not really knowing what we will hear or what that will mean. In the practice of our days, to listen is to lean in, softly, with a willingness to be changed by what we hear' Mark Nepo
Our listening presence is a gift we can bring to ourselves and others.
Listening with empathy is a core element of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). A deep quality of being here, being with what is, without judgement, and without trying to change anything. And yet so often I witness people struggling to hear meaning, to stay present to what is being expressed. Struggling to be alongside people in discomfort, wanting to move them from where they are.
Human Beings are hardwired for empathy but our capacity for empathy can be hugely impacted by our upbringing and circumstances. It can be hard to be empathic when we are holding pain ourselves, or to be alongside those we care about when they are in pain. It can be hard to trust that empathy can be one of the most nourishing gifts we can offer to ourselves and others.
At a time when society is becoming more polarised, to listen from the heart, to understand, and to be willing to be moved by what we hear is an essential skill. We need to be willing to open our hearts, listen and be alongside each other in joy or discomfort, if we are to find ways to work together and create the kinds of families, work places, governments and communities that will enable us to thrive.
Even if what we hear is difficult and we disagree, non-judgemental listening is a first step to understanding ourselves and others. When we find the willingness to fully hear, the depth of understanding and meaning we receive brings a new quality of being with each other, a new quality of knowing and seeing ourselves and others.
In this course, we will explore and practice offering and receiving this quality of presence, so we can meet ourselves and each other with compassion and understanding, whether the others be friends, family, co-workers, community members, people with whom we agree or disagree.
Over the five sessions we will focus on:
Our listening presence is a gift we can bring to ourselves and others.
Listening with empathy is a core element of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). A deep quality of being here, being with what is, without judgement, and without trying to change anything. And yet so often I witness people struggling to hear meaning, to stay present to what is being expressed. Struggling to be alongside people in discomfort, wanting to move them from where they are.
Human Beings are hardwired for empathy but our capacity for empathy can be hugely impacted by our upbringing and circumstances. It can be hard to be empathic when we are holding pain ourselves, or to be alongside those we care about when they are in pain. It can be hard to trust that empathy can be one of the most nourishing gifts we can offer to ourselves and others.
At a time when society is becoming more polarised, to listen from the heart, to understand, and to be willing to be moved by what we hear is an essential skill. We need to be willing to open our hearts, listen and be alongside each other in joy or discomfort, if we are to find ways to work together and create the kinds of families, work places, governments and communities that will enable us to thrive.
Even if what we hear is difficult and we disagree, non-judgemental listening is a first step to understanding ourselves and others. When we find the willingness to fully hear, the depth of understanding and meaning we receive brings a new quality of being with each other, a new quality of knowing and seeing ourselves and others.
In this course, we will explore and practice offering and receiving this quality of presence, so we can meet ourselves and each other with compassion and understanding, whether the others be friends, family, co-workers, community members, people with whom we agree or disagree.
Over the five sessions we will focus on:
- Self-empathy and self-compassion
- Building our empathy skills of guessing feelings and needs
- Empathic accompaniment. Being alongside others and staying with difficult feelings
- Empathy for hard to hear messages / enemy images
- NVC Dialogue - following the flow of connection with ourselves and others, from empathy to self-empathy, empathy to self-expression
- Foundation training essential.
- You need to be able to be curious about the feelings and needs of others even if they are communicating in ways you do not enjoy.
- Ideally, further taught practice, practice group, or an Intermediate level training.
- This is not an introduction to NVC. Please do not come if you are completely new to NVC.
Make Peace with yourself: How to deal with inner conflict (half day)
Do you sometimes have a battle on going on inside you? Do different parts of you want different things? Do you struggle to make up your mind and then criticise yourself for your choices?
Being human means that different parts of us sometimes want different things, and if we don't find a way to tread the balance it can be painful and debilitating.
The Dalai Lama said:
“Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways."
If we can we can find a way to listen to the different parts of ourselves and understand their intentions, we can find a way to be at peace, make decisions that serves us or sit with uncertainty with more ease.
Making peace with yourself is an act of self-love that serves you and everyone you are connected to.
Each part or voice is holding a different strand of something important to you. By listening with love to the different parts we can care for ourselves and make choices.........
During this half day course we will learn
how to listen to the different perspectives and understand what is important to them
how to get all the needs on the table and make creative decisions
how to spot patterns of behaviour that are no longer serving you
how to listen with love and stay in connection with yourself
Do you sometimes have a battle on going on inside you? Do different parts of you want different things? Do you struggle to make up your mind and then criticise yourself for your choices?
Being human means that different parts of us sometimes want different things, and if we don't find a way to tread the balance it can be painful and debilitating.
The Dalai Lama said:
“Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways."
If we can we can find a way to listen to the different parts of ourselves and understand their intentions, we can find a way to be at peace, make decisions that serves us or sit with uncertainty with more ease.
Making peace with yourself is an act of self-love that serves you and everyone you are connected to.
Each part or voice is holding a different strand of something important to you. By listening with love to the different parts we can care for ourselves and make choices.........
During this half day course we will learn
how to listen to the different perspectives and understand what is important to them
how to get all the needs on the table and make creative decisions
how to spot patterns of behaviour that are no longer serving you
how to listen with love and stay in connection with yourself
From Self-criticism to Self-care (half day)
Many of us sabotage ourselves daily by comparing ourselves to others (I'll never be as good as them) or criticising ourselves (you messed that up again). Often we speak to ourselves in ways we would never dream of speaking to others. We judge, criticise and make demands of ourselves on a daily basis.
My inner critic can eat away at my confidence and demonise parts of me that are actually doing their best to help me. It can keep me playing small, or make every step I take twice as hard as it needs to be.
Communication is often overlooked in terms of self development, yet it is a focal part of healthy relationships, and our key relationship in life is the one we have with ourselves. Developing a compassionate and warm relationship with yourself can support you to find peace and self-acceptance and lead to a healthy brain, which means resilience and a growing sense of meaning and purpose.
This half day course will support you to become aware of how you are relating to yourself right now and show you how to begin to build self-care by offering gentle empathy to the ways you speak to yourself.
During this course you will:
Many of us sabotage ourselves daily by comparing ourselves to others (I'll never be as good as them) or criticising ourselves (you messed that up again). Often we speak to ourselves in ways we would never dream of speaking to others. We judge, criticise and make demands of ourselves on a daily basis.
My inner critic can eat away at my confidence and demonise parts of me that are actually doing their best to help me. It can keep me playing small, or make every step I take twice as hard as it needs to be.
Communication is often overlooked in terms of self development, yet it is a focal part of healthy relationships, and our key relationship in life is the one we have with ourselves. Developing a compassionate and warm relationship with yourself can support you to find peace and self-acceptance and lead to a healthy brain, which means resilience and a growing sense of meaning and purpose.
This half day course will support you to become aware of how you are relating to yourself right now and show you how to begin to build self-care by offering gentle empathy to the ways you speak to yourself.
During this course you will:
- Learn a clear and simple process for listening to your inner critic with curiosity and warmth
- Begin to understand what your critic is trying to tell you
- learn how to get clear what is really important to you moment by moment
- Begin to build a different, more loving relationship with your yourself
- Experience the transforming effects of self-warmth
- Develop simple, doable self care practices that make a difference
Create Change with Powerful Requests (2 days)
Making requests is a key part of the NVC process and yet it is rarely given the same time and attention as the other steps. And yet we can get really stuck with asking for what we want. “What if I hear no?” “I can't possibly ask for that” “They'll think I am being selfish” It's easy to get caught into ideas that it's not OK to ask for what we want.
Empathy supports connection and deep understanding. Making requests can build even more connection and gets right to the core of taking action to create change. And meet needs.
What would you like to ask of yourself? Your loved ones? Your colleagues?
Whether you want to take steps to care for yourself more effectively, build relationships or support change occurring in the world (or all three), requests are a powerful tool for making things happen in a way that cares for the needs of everyone.
Supercharge your NVC consciousness by adding in the power of makingclear requests
Learn How to
(Pre-requisite: 2 day foundation training)
Making requests is a key part of the NVC process and yet it is rarely given the same time and attention as the other steps. And yet we can get really stuck with asking for what we want. “What if I hear no?” “I can't possibly ask for that” “They'll think I am being selfish” It's easy to get caught into ideas that it's not OK to ask for what we want.
Empathy supports connection and deep understanding. Making requests can build even more connection and gets right to the core of taking action to create change. And meet needs.
What would you like to ask of yourself? Your loved ones? Your colleagues?
Whether you want to take steps to care for yourself more effectively, build relationships or support change occurring in the world (or all three), requests are a powerful tool for making things happen in a way that cares for the needs of everyone.
Supercharge your NVC consciousness by adding in the power of makingclear requests
Learn How to
- use requests to get fully connected with others before moving to strategies
- make requests that are deeply connected to needs
- make super clear action requests that create real change
- explore different types of requests for different situations
- be willing to hear no and to hear no as an opportunity for getting to yes
(Pre-requisite: 2 day foundation training)
Scary Honesty (one day)
Scary honesty is more than just saying what you think. Scary Honesty is speaking from the heart, and being willing to listen to the response you get. Holding myself as important AND caring about what is important for others.
When I speak with scary honesty I make myself vulnerable – I share part of myself and hope that whoever I am speaking to, will meet me with understanding and empathy. When I risk speaking honestly I trust that expressing my needs will lead to more understanding not less.
And the response I get may not be the one I hoped for.
With scary honesty, I want to be able to hold my own needs with gentleness and care, and to listen for the feelings and needs being expressed by others, so I can deal with whatever happens once I open my mouth. Then, even if things get messy for a while I can stay in the dialogue, take care of myself and increase my chances of connection, of being heard and of everyone's needs getting met.
On this one day course we will practice the skills of empathy in preparation for speaking honestly and being able to stay grounded whatever response we get.
Scary honesty is more than just saying what you think. Scary Honesty is speaking from the heart, and being willing to listen to the response you get. Holding myself as important AND caring about what is important for others.
When I speak with scary honesty I make myself vulnerable – I share part of myself and hope that whoever I am speaking to, will meet me with understanding and empathy. When I risk speaking honestly I trust that expressing my needs will lead to more understanding not less.
And the response I get may not be the one I hoped for.
With scary honesty, I want to be able to hold my own needs with gentleness and care, and to listen for the feelings and needs being expressed by others, so I can deal with whatever happens once I open my mouth. Then, even if things get messy for a while I can stay in the dialogue, take care of myself and increase my chances of connection, of being heard and of everyone's needs getting met.
On this one day course we will practice the skills of empathy in preparation for speaking honestly and being able to stay grounded whatever response we get.
How to Never Hear Criticism Ever Again
Sometimes I have found criticism deeply painful. I believed what I am hearing and it hurts. It was hard to stay grounded and respond with any curiosity at all. I was more likely to leave or get defensive
Now, I understand that the words I am hearing ( the criticism) are not what the speaker is really wanting to be heard at all. In fact there is a whole other meaning being expressed which I miss completely when I tune into criticism. If I can side step the criticism and listen a little differently, get curious about what is actually being said, I can hear something way more meaningful and likely to contribute to connection and understanding. Creating the opportunity for a productive dialogue, understanding and solutions that care for everyone
Come along if you would like to:
This is a one day workshop suitable for beginners and those with some experience of Nonviolent Communication.
Sometimes I have found criticism deeply painful. I believed what I am hearing and it hurts. It was hard to stay grounded and respond with any curiosity at all. I was more likely to leave or get defensive
Now, I understand that the words I am hearing ( the criticism) are not what the speaker is really wanting to be heard at all. In fact there is a whole other meaning being expressed which I miss completely when I tune into criticism. If I can side step the criticism and listen a little differently, get curious about what is actually being said, I can hear something way more meaningful and likely to contribute to connection and understanding. Creating the opportunity for a productive dialogue, understanding and solutions that care for everyone
Come along if you would like to:
- free yourself from being blamed, judged, or having the finger pointed at you.
- hear what is really going on for the speaker and understand what they are trying to say regardless of their choice of words
- learn a way to respond that contributes to connection and understanding
- Be open to the possibility of productive dialogue
This is a one day workshop suitable for beginners and those with some experience of Nonviolent Communication.
Nonviolent Approaches to Conflict (2 days)
I have spent a lot of my life hiding from conflict, trying to avoid it, or even working with other people's conflict to avoid my own. I've come to realise that conflict is an inevitable part of life, in fact a necessary part because conflict tells me when something isn't working, and that attention, connection, possibly change is needed.
Avoiding conflict can make things worse, because I live with continual unease or disconnection. Or I put up with things for so long that when I do express myself it comes our as angry and judgemental and that just feeds the conflict. Sound familiar?
So I want to offer and explore some non-violent approaches to conflict. Ways to step towards conflict, embrace it and use its power to help me live a full and meaningful life, without losing connection with myself or others. If you would like to explore how to be more at ease with conflict, please join me for this 2 day workshop. (Pre-requisite: 2 day foundation training)
Avoiding conflict can make things worse, because I live with continual unease or disconnection. Or I put up with things for so long that when I do express myself it comes our as angry and judgemental and that just feeds the conflict. Sound familiar?
So I want to offer and explore some non-violent approaches to conflict. Ways to step towards conflict, embrace it and use its power to help me live a full and meaningful life, without losing connection with myself or others. If you would like to explore how to be more at ease with conflict, please join me for this 2 day workshop. (Pre-requisite: 2 day foundation training)
Bespoke Courses
Do you belong to a particular group that has specific communication concerns, or are you part of an organisation or team that have areas where you want to grow in communicating in a more caring and compassionate way? I can design courses for your group or organisation to meet specific requirements. Please contact me to discuss what you would like.