Online practice sessions will meet on specified Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings (Central Standard Time or CST). All practice groups are meeting online unless noted otherwise below, and are offered by your hosts in Madison, Wisconsin USA. Please join us from wherever you are!
Join Us for Practice
Our practice groups are listed below. There are groups to support every level of practice, and you are welcome to join us for the practice groups that match your needs and experience level.
Join our Zoom meetings using this link. See additional details for instructions on how to join via the Zoom website.
Reminders are sent via email for each practice group meeting. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, or if you have any questions, please contact us. You can also find us on Facebook.
In addition, please check our Calendar page to confirm dates and check for exceptions to our regular schedule, such as holiday breaks.
We also invite you to review our Group Agreements.
Please visit this page often to find the latest details on practice group sessions, including dates and times, handouts, resources, and any advance preparation that may enable you to participate more fully.
About Our Practice Groups
Experiencing the heart of NVC
Offered the second and fourth Tuesday and first and third Wednesday of the month, 7–8:30 pm Central Time (CT)
This practice group is intended for every Nonviolent Communication (NVC) practitioner, regardless of prior experience. These sessions will benefit practitioners at all levels, from beginner to advanced.
If you are new to NVC, you will learn and practice skills that will bring NVC to life. If you are an experienced practitioner, these sessions provide a wonderful opportunity to share your experience with others and deepen your own practice. NVC is a lifelong practice, and there is always more to learn.
We use the book Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg as our text for this study and practice group. We will go through this book chapter by chapter. Although there is much to be gained by studying each chapter in sequence, you are under no obligation to participate each time.
Please note that completion of this group practice series or an equivalent is a pre-requisite to participating in our Continuing Conscious Communication Community of Practice. When this practice series concludes, participants will receive an invitation to join the Continuing Practice group.
Upcoming sessions
Preparation note: In most sessions, we will use the Feelings and Needs chart in our practice. Please have this chart handy. If you have “Grok Cards” from Grok the World, feel free to use those instead.
Chapter 13: Liberating Ourselves and Counseling Others
Wednesdays, July 2 and 16 & Tuesdays, July 8 and 22, 7–8:30 p.m. Central Time (CT)
- Use this Zoom link or join us via the Zoom website
- Print or have ready: Worksheet: Where Do I Put My Attention: Life or Pain?
- Print or have ready: Feelings and Needs chart
- Read: Chapter 13, “Liberating Ourselves and Counseling Others” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication. Please join us even if you do not have time to read the chapter.
Completed sessions
Chapter 1: Giving from the Heart
Wednesday, October 16 & Tuesday, November 12
- Worksheet Chapter 1: Giving from the Heart
- Feelings and Needs chart
- Video of the week, The Basics of Nonviolent Communication 1.2 with Marshall Rosenberg (9:10).
- Group Agreements
- Chapter 1, “Giving from the Heart” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication.
Chapter 2: Communication that Blocks Compassion
Wednesday, November 6 & Tuesday, November 26
- Worksheet Chapter 2: Barriers to Communication
- Feelings and Needs chart
- Chapter 2, “Communication that Blocks Compassion” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication.
Holiday Empathy
Wednesday, November 20
Chapter 3: Observing without Evaluating
Wednesday, December 4 & Tuesday, December 10
Chapter 4: Identifying and Expressing Feelings
Wednesday, December 18 & Tuesday, January 14
- Worksheet: Sorting Thoughts and Feelings
- Handout: Thoughts Disguised as Feelings
Chapter 5: Taking Responsibility for Our Feelings
Wednesday, January 15 & Tuesday, January 28
Chapter 6, Part 1: Requesting That Which Would Enrich Life
Wednesday, February 5 & Tuesday, February 11
Chapter 6, Part 2: Requesting That Which Would Enrich Life
Wednesday, February 19 & Tuesday, February 25
- Worksheet: Request or Demand?
- Feelings and Needs chart
- Chapter 6, “Requesting That Which Would Enrich Life,” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication.
Chapter 6, Part 3: Requesting That Which Would Enrich Life
Wednesday, March 5 & Tuesday, March 11
- Worksheet: Mourning When You Get a “No”
- Feelings and Needs chart
- Video of the week: The Toilet Seat Argument (10:53)
- Chapter 6, “Requesting That Which Would Enrich Life,” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication.
Chapter 7: Receiving Empathically
Wednesday, March 19 & Tuesday, March 25
- Worksheet: Would You Listen?
- Feelings and Needs chart
- Video of the week: Why Empathy? (2:00)
- Chapter 7, “Receiving Empathically,” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication. Please join us even if you do not have time to read the chapter.
Chapter 8: The Power of Empathy
Wednesday, April 2 & Tuesday, April 8
- Worksheet: Witnessing with Presence
- Feelings and Needs chart
- The Mugger (5:12)
- Chapter 8, “The Power of Empathy,” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication.
Chapter 9, Part 1: Connecting Compassionately with Ourselves
Wednesday, April 16 & Tuesday, April 22
- Worksheet: Self-Forgiveness When I’m Not Perfect
- Feelings and Needs chart
- Chapter 9, “Connecting Compassionately with Ourselves,” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication.
Chapter 9, Part 2: Connecting Compassionately with Ourselves
Wednesday, May 7 & Tuesday, May 13
- Worksheet: Have To vs. Choose To
- Feelings and Needs chart
- Chapter 9, “Connecting Compassionately with Ourselves,” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication.
Chapter 10: Expressing Anger Fully
Wednesday, May 21 & Tuesday, May 27
- Worksheet: Welcoming the Jackals
- Feelings and Needs chart
- Chapter 10, “Expressing Anger Fully,” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication.
Chapter 11: Conflict Resolution and Mediation
Wednesday, June 4 & Tuesday, June 10
- Worksheet: Creating Connection to Resolve Conflicts
- Feelings and Needs chart
- Chapter 11, “Conflict Resolution and Mediation” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication.
Chapter 12: The Protective Use of Force
Wednesday, June 18 & Tuesday, June 24
- Worksheet: Own rather than Justify
- Feelings and Needs chart
- Chapter 12, “The Protective Use of Force” in Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication.
Continuing Conscious Communication Community of Practice
Offered the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, 7–8:30 pm Central Time (CT)
Meets second Wednesdays in person at Friends Meeting House, Madison WI
Meets fourth Wednesdays online via Zoom
This practice group is intended for experienced practitioners who have completed at least a year of NVC practice with a group or the equivalent. We assume knowledge of the basic principles, steps and parts of NVC, as well as practice applying these in your own life.
The Continuing Practice Group sessions do not follow a set curriculum or follow a single text. We may choose to explore a key concept together, or we may engage in a practice suggested by a group member.
If you would like to participate in our Continuing Practice Group, please contact us for more details and to be added to the mailing list.
Practice Groups Based Elsewhere
The Center for Nonviolent Communication provides of list of practice groups that are practicing Marshall Rosenberg’s principles of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) throughout the world.
How to Join Us Using Zoom
Ways to join:
- Click on: Join Zoom Meeting
- Click on: http://zoom.us
Meeting ID: 821 8008 4155
Passcode: lovenvc (all lower case letters)
Sign in early (at 6:45 pm) to familiarize yourself with the basic functions of Zoom. You may have to download Zoom in order to enter the meeting. If the “join meeting” button doesn’t work, look below it for a link to download.