October 24-26, 2003
Non-Violent Communication (NVC) is founded on language and communication skills that strengthen our ability to remain human, even under trying conditions. It contains nothing new; all that has been integrated into NVC has been known for centuries. The intent is to remind us about what we already know -- about how we humans were meant to relate to one another -- and to assist us in living in a way that concretely manifests this knowledge. NVC guides us in reframing how we express ourselves and hear others. Instead of being habitual, automatic reactions, our words become conscious responses based firmly on an awareness of what we are percieving, feeling, and wanting. We are led to express ourselves with honesty and clarity, while simultaneously paying others a respectful and empathic attention. In any exchange, we come to hear our own deeper needs and those of others. NVC trains us to observe carefully, and to be able to specify behaviors and conditions that are affecting us. We learn to identify and clearly articulate what we are concretely wanting in a given situation. The form is simple, yet powerfully transformative. As NVC replaces our old patterns of defending, withdrawing, or attacking in the face of judgment and criticism, we come to perceive ourselves and others, as well as our intentions and relationships, in a new light. Resistance, defensiveness, and violent reactions are minimized. When we focus on clarifying what is being observed, felt, and needed rather than on diagnosing and judging, we discover the depth of our own compassion. Through its emphasis on deep listening -- to ourselves as well as others -- NVC fosters respect, attentiveness, and empathy, and engenders a mutual desire to give from the heart.
Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. is Founder and Director of Educational Services for the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC). Dr. Rosenberg first used NVC in federally funded projects to provide mediation and communication skills training during the 1960s. He founded the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC) in 1984. Over the past 17 years CNVC has grown into 100 trainers. They provide training in 30 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and offer workshops for educators, counselors, health care providers mediators, business managers, prison inmates, and guards, police, military personnel, clergy and government officials. Dr. Rosenberg has initiated peace programs in war torn areas including Rwanda, Burundi, Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, the Middle East, Colombia, Serbia, Croatia, and Northern Ireland. Funded by UNESCO, the CNVC team in Yugoslavia has trained tens of thousands of students and teachers. The government of Israel has officially recognized NVC and is now offering this process in schools in that country. Dr. Rosenberg is currently based in Wasserfallenhof, Switzerland, and travels regularly offering NVC training and conflict mediation.