Compassionate Communication Center of Ohio

Guided by Elke Haggerty, a CALF Certified NVC Trainer, The Practice is a hands-on combination of bite-size pieces of training with significant practice time focused on personal relationships, including our relationships with ourselves and our children or grandchildren.

• The 1^st and 3^rd Wednesday sessions focus on self empathy and empathy
• The 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday sessions focus on a wide range of other NVC concepts depending on the interest of the group

•Sign up is by month, for a month at a time.•

There is no prerequisite, though taking an Introduction to NVC class is highly suggested.

In this Compassionate Communication series, you can learn to: 

• Understand what matters to you so you can enter into conversation feeling less charged but more clear
• Listen to others to understand them without hearing criticism so you can stay in dialogue and can feel more at peace
• Express what matters to you in ways that are more likely to be able to be heard so you can find ways to meet both your needs

The ongoing series is a facilitated, interactive exploration of NVC using activities such as: 

• personal reflection and journaling
• small group breakout exercises
• group discussions
• role-playing
• games and more. 

Participants can ask the facilitator for the topics that most interest them for the next session. We share vulnerably – even the facilitator – so you know you are not alone and don’t need to be perfect! 

Topics can include, and are not limited to the following areas:

• The intention to connect (vs. correct, advise etc.)
• The Nonviolent Communication model of Dr. Marshall Rosenberg (observations, feelings, needs, and requests; the 4 ears, 3 kinds of requests)
• Common communication practices (e.g. hearing another’s anger, expressing and hearing a no, self empathy, mourning and learning from our regrets, screaming in giraffe, expressing and receiving gratitude, making conscious choices with an awareness of needs, making an NVC apology, and resolving inner conflict), and 
• 24 NVC key differentiations (e.g. power with vs. power over or power under, protective vs. punitive use of force, appreciation vs. approval, compliments, or praise, shift vs. compromise, persisting vs. demanding, and self-discipline vs. obedience).

What we do ask those joining is an openness to reflecting on how you communicate (it’s the only thing we have control over, and it can shift how others respond to us).

Where there is willingness, there is rich learning possible and we can, together, create a safe space for learning.