Wikipedia defines Nonviolent Communication (abbreviated NVC) as a communication process that focuses on three aspects of communication: self-empathy, empathy, and honest self-expression.
NVC is based on the idea that all human beings have the capacity for compassion and only resort to violence or behavior that harms others when they don’t recognize more effective strategies for meeting needs. NVC proposes that if people can identify their needs, the needs of others, and the feelings that surround these needs, harmony can be achieved.
This talk is entitled Empowering Compassionate Relationships. We will identify a personal conflict and see how a situation can shift when we change what we focus our attention on in our relationships. We will notice where we are focusing our attention as a foundational skill, which allows us to be at choice instead of reacting from our habitual way of thinking and communicating. Lastly we will hear of four ways to hear any message.
Facilitator: David Shindoll M.A. is a certified trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication and co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Compassionate Communication Network (RMCCN). As a teacher trainer at the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies, David has used the NVC model to support teachers in having power with children instead of power over them. In addition to his work in education, David also does couples/family mediation, communication coaching, and facilitates an NVC Facilitators’ Practice Group. Visit the RMCCN website at www.rmccn.org