Cards for democracy are a great companion tool for Nonviolent communication (NVC) training.
Nonviolent Communication supports the practice of active Listening, avoiding blame and taking responsibility for our emotions. This is why we consider NVC to be a practice that supports a democratic culture and can be combined with the Cards for democracy in an educational, coaching or training context.
Our traditional responses to conflict tend to rely on locating someone to blame and criticize. We may become defensive and fail to address the situation. NVC emphasizes listening and understanding empathically rather than just reacting. This means giving your full attention to a speaker without judgement and getting clarity where needed. This requires us to operate important shifts in our thought process, we take responsibility for our reactions and emotions, and it naturally becomes easier for us to engage in problem-solving.
The 4 main components of NVC are:
- Observation. First, we observe what is happening in a situation, just the facts without introducing any judgment or evaluation
- Feelings. Then, as we take time to recognize our feelings, we can communicate more authentically and connect with others on a deeper level.
- Needs. When we can clearly identify and clarify our needs, we can communicate them to others to engage in mutually beneficial explorations.
- Requests. Asking for what we want and need means engaging the other party to take part in finding ways to get unstuck
Cards for Democracy can help your participants evaluate and debrief, evaluate “where they are at” with some of their attitudes, behaviors and actions.
Active Listening & Empathy
Observing without blame
Emotional Awareness
Clarifying needs and requests
Nonviolent Communication for Social Change using Cards for Demoracy
There have also been challenges in developing and practicing an NVC that is more sensitive to the wider systemic issues of inequality within our societies such as racism, sexism, and other discriminative structures (overt and covert).
We think the cards can help “people who are interested in NVC not just for personal growth but also for social change” (Roxy Manning) to get closer to the issues of power that unfold in relational situations.
