Half-day interactive workshops

The half-day Effective Conversations Workshops are based on a model and practice of empathy developed by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, a clinical psychologist.  Rosenberg's model helps us communicate, avoiding the most common ways that we unintentionally produce alienation, defensiveness and stagnation, when we're actually trying to create connections, inspiration and progress.

Compassionate (nonviolent) Communication is a four-step communication model that helps us to express ourselves more clearly and honestly, listen effectively and hear with empathy. It is both an attitude and a set of skills that can enhance personal and professional relationships and strengthen our ability to effectively address difficult interpersonal issues.

The four-step process encourages us to:

• Observe what is actually happening in a situation that is affecting our well-being or how we feel – positively or negatively
• Identify and express how we feel in relation to this observation
• Articulate what needs are connected to the feelings we have identified
• Make a very specific request that indicates what we would like in order to satisfy the needs that we have identified

The PHP offers a half-day workshop that a) outlines this why a practical approach to empathy is beneficial to physicians, b) introduces the Compassionate Communication model, and c) allows participants the opportunity to apply the model to workplace and personal situations.

This session gives participants some useful basic skills that they can apply in everyday life, both at work and at home. By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

• Identify how words can connect or alienate;
• Recognize options you have in responding to difficult situations;
• Understand and recall the four steps of the OFNR model of compassionate communication (empathic practice);
  1. Differentiate a neutral observation from an evaluation or interpretation.
  2. Differentiate an honest expression of feelings from an assignment of blame.
  3. Recognize that individual needs are universal, and are independent of other peoples’ actions. Differentiate needs from strategies for getting things done.
  4. Identify and form clear and doable requests and differentiate them from demands.
• Identify personal and workplace situations where you might apply this knowledge and skill to improve relationships;
• Practice applying the model (with coaching) to a relevant situation.

For some video illustrations of the process of Compassionate Communication, check out our video library.  If you'd like more information about how to book a workshop in your community, don't hesitate to get in touch with us.  Click here for a list of references.