Exercise 1: Practice Making Observations, Not Judgments<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nMaking objective observations instead of judgments about people you disagree with is difficult. Practice this skill by starting with positive<\/em> judgments you\u2019ve made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n- Think of a person or group that you\u2019ve made a positive<\/em> moralistic judgment about recently. (For example, \u201cMy son is so smart\u201d or \u201cThe U.S. women\u2019s national soccer team is the best team in history.\u201d) Write that judgment below.<\/li>
- How can you rephrase that judgment as an observation? (For example, \u201cMy son got an A on his spelling test\u201d or \u201cThe U.S. women\u2019s soccer team has won four gold medals.\u201d)<\/li>
- Now, think of a negative<\/em> moralistic judgment you\u2019ve made in the past. (For example, \u201cMy neighbor is a jerk\u201d or \u201cGun owners are bad people.\u201d) Write that judgment below.\u00a0<\/li>
- How can you rephrase that judgment as an observation? (For example, \u201cMy neighbor blew all his leaves into my yard\u201d or \u201cNonviolence is important to me, so I don\u2019t support owning weapons.\u201d)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 2: Identify Feelings and Needs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIdentifying feelings and connecting them to needs takes practice. Try it out now by revisiting a past conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Think of the last time you had a disagreement with someone close to you (this could be a partner, child, friend, or coworker). What were you feeling<\/em> during that disagreement? What need gave rise to those feelings?<\/li>
- Now, think about the person you disagreed with. What were they feeling at the time?\u00a0What were they needing?\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 3: Practice Emergency Empathy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSometimes, you may feel so threatened or upset by someone that you\u2019re not able to offer genuine empathy. This exercise will help you make a plan for those situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Think of a person or group that violates your values so profoundly that you find them impossible to empathize with. When you\u2019ve interacted with that person or group in the past, what emotions were you feeling?\u00a0<\/li>
- When you think about that person or group now, what emotions come up?<\/li>
- Thinking about that person or group right now, while you\u2019re not directly interacting with them, do you still find it impossible to empathize with them? What feelings or needs of theirs can you identify?<\/li>
- The next time you have to interact with this person or group, how can you show yourself<\/em> some emergency first-aid empathy?\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
—<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Do you want to apply Marshall Rosenberg’s nonviolent living philosophy? What are some nonviolent communication exercises you can practice? NVC is an approach to interpersonal communication that is premised on the idea that all forms of violent communication stem from unmet needs. The following nonviolent communication exercises are designed to help you practice and apply the key concepts and ideas from the book. Try these nonviolent communication exercises to reinforce your understanding of the book’s key concepts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,34],"tags":[190],"class_list":["post-23884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-communication","tag-nonviolent-communication","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\n
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