We grow up, and are educated, in a culture that for centuries, or millennia, is based on a paradigm rooted in violence. Any form of communication that leads the other person to close up or move away from us is violent. Thinking and communicating in this way creates, at the very least, misunderstandings and frustration.
Since communication and relationships are the basis of our development and maturity, it is essential to learn how to communicate in a caring, considerate and understanding way. We are rarely taught how to develop this attitude either towards others or towards ourselves.
Nonviolent communication (NVC) shows a different way of experiencing our relationships by expressing ourselves and communicating with others in a way that connects the activity of our mind with both the feeling of our hearts and with our needs. We use language to facilitate a personal transformation that can also be a social one. Whenever we apply NVC in our relationships – be it with ourselves, with another person or with a group – our compassion naturally opens up.
Nonviolent communication enables us to reconstruct both our way of fully expressing ourselves, without keeping anything back, and our way of listening to others. This is possible by becoming aware of what we observe, feel and need and what we ask of others in order to enrich both our life and theirs. NVC facilitates attentive listening, respect and empathy; and promotes the mutual desire to give wholeheartedly.
NVC can be applied effectively in:
close relationships | family |
school | organisations and institutions |
therapy and psychological assessment | diplomatic and commercial negotiations |
disputes and all types of conflicts |
Please contact us for more information.