Practice Groups


Practicing NVC
The value of Practice Groups

Contributed by Wayne Prince & Deb Henderson-Newport

It’s 7pm and there’s a knock at the door. We are feeling both nervous and excited about what may evolve from tonight’s NVC practice group. We have a plan on what we would like to happen tonight and also a willingness to go with where the group is at.

We greet our guests with hugs and warm welcome, leading them into our heart space held by our intention to co-create a place of connection and safety.

Our practice group has been running in Auckland since February 2007 (with a break when we travelled around NZ).  It’s an open group for anyone with an interest in NVC. The intention is to
make it accessible to all – no matter what your level of understanding or training is.

Our heartfelt thanks goes out to Ian, Heather, John, Piper and Janet for opening your homes as a space for practice nights and also for your support and contribution to our NVC community.

In our opinion, with learning any new skill – it takes practice. We can and try this NVC stuff out on our families and friends, our child’s teacher, our boss and whomever we connect with. We can do our best to put into practice what we have learnt. Sometimes it doesn’t always go the way we would like – we feel frustrated, annoyed and maybe hurt, really needing contribution, effectiveness and hope that what we are learning will get to that place of fluency.

http://www.mn8love.com/images/M2Gweb.jpghttp://www.mn8love.com/images/MJ2web.jpgIn a practice group we can share that frustration, and seek support from our peers in exploring new strategies to have those needs met for effectiveness, contribution and connection. There are opportunities to be heard – a common place to come together where there is that acceptance of what it is to be a “baby giraffe”.

Giraffe and Jackal puppets, used in NVC trainingsWe get to play with the tools – eg: Grok Cards, Puppets, Ears, Dance Floors to gain clarity on what our observations feelings, needs, requests are in relation to a certain issue. We get to practice what it is to really hear someone and give empathy, and to explore different components of NVC and relate them to our every day experiences.

For us the juice in running an NVC Practice Group is in co-creating that space of safety and connection. To contribute to our growing NVC community in a way that is both supportive and enriches the life of anyone that comes along.

We offer support in setting up practice groups and are willing to travel to do this. If you are interested, give us a call or email: wayne@in2connect.co.nz 09 416 8722 or 027 237 9657

 

Wellington Community Group at Play