No matter what happens in our world, Communication Skills will remain “Survival Skills”. Unfortunately, these skills are rarely taught by parents or schools. Instead, we learn, by osmosis, strategies that make relationships difficult. Only by choosing to learn a new way is it possible to “unlearn” the approaches you have inherited and learn to communicate with heart.
Communication Skills Training will Strengthen Your Connections
The Giraffe is the symbol of Compassionate Communication: Long neck = vulnerability; Big heart = knows his emotions; and Digests Thorns = finds value in challenging messages
The ability to build relationships and sustain them is and will continue to be a “survival skill” in the world. With so many forces pushing us away from others and into smaller and smaller (and less diverse) communities, the ability to befriend and cooperate with those you perceive as “different” is threatened.
Communicating with Heart helps people of all sorts strengthen their ability to live with others and connection in ways that enrich life. Whether you are challenged to relate well to people at work, in your family, in your neighborhood, or in the organizations you belong to, stronger communication skills are necessary to create joy in your life.
What Basic Skills support effective Communication?
- Presence – The ability to be aware of your state of mind and act based on your value
- Intention – Clarity of purpose creates ease in decision-making and focuses personal power
- The Four Literacies of Compassion
- Observational — awareness of biases and the ability to describe the world without evaluation
- Emotional — awareness of our inner state and the ability to put words to those sensations
- Motivational — awareness of the forces that motivate your behavior and the ability to name them
- Invitational — awareness of “what is” in the world without attachment and the ability to make requests rather than demands
- The Four Steps
- Observation as opposed to Evaluation
- Feelings as opposed to Thoughts or Non-Feelings
- Needs as opposed to Strategies
- Requests as opposed to Demands
- The Three Skills of Compassion
- Self-Empathy – presence to your inner experience without judgment or analysis
- Empathy – connecting with another person’s inner experience without judgment or analysis
- Self-Expression (Honesty) – speaking your truth confidently in ways that can be heard
What is the basis of my Communication Skills Training?
Tomorrow will be a better place
My communication skills training is based on Compassionate Communication (CC) also known as Nonviolent Communication (NVC). I have been practicing NVC for 16 years and teaching it for about 14 years. It is the tool and worldview that I use for my internal and external communication. Many needs of mine are met by sharing this technology with others.
My conflict resolution, team-building and other presentations combine CC with the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory and many other tools that I’ve used with people to help them reach their goals.
What is it like to be trained by Communicating with Heart?
I have fun when I train. I share my dynamic energy via music, puppets, more music, interactive exercises, and in-the-moment humor.
I balance the fun with a good dose of sharing about my experiences and wisdom on the topic at hand. My hope is that each trainee will walk away refreshed and educated. My dream is that some will walk away inspired to change their life and the world.
For a recent Birthday, I invited my friends to share one word that comes to mind when they think of me. Here are a few examples: “Playful”, “Creative”, “Authentic”, “Perceptive”, “Enthusiastic”, “Lively”, and “Ebullient”. These words convey the energy that I bring to training sessions.