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Comments by People from Various Communities

*Note: These quotes may be found in their entirety in their appropriate professional category. We have selected them to focus on the applicability of the principles of "Powerful, Non-Defensive Communication" as a tool for creating strong healthy communities that work toward healing and respect for all people.

Sharon's work has had a tremendous impact on the Napa Valley Peace Table's ability to make open and honest community building a successful priority. Sharon trained 35 diverse leaders in non-defensive communication, including the Mayor, the Superintendent of Schools, the College President, the District Attorney and some of Napa's most exciting young student leaders. Her own communication skill and her powerful training program made it easy for all of us to realize how our words and attitude affect our ability to create "community" rather than chaos. The Napa Valley Peace Table's goal of bringing a multicultural, multigenerational vision to the Valley's future was jump-started at the heart by Sharon's easy to understand non-defensive communication tools. —Dorothy Lind, President, The Peace Table, Napa, CA

I believe [the communication process] you teach is the most powerful and effective communication technique I have seen. I wonder what would have happened if you had been at Camp David [for the Middle East peace talks]. —Maureen A. Tighe, U.S. Department of Justice

Ms. Ellison . . . is known as a tireless leader. She is most impressive when speaking before groups and works well under pressure. She has been of immense aid to all of us who work in the helping professions and has received many plaudits and commendations from this community for her abilities and efforts. —Lewis M. Simmons, M.S.W., A.C.S.W. Assistant Director, Lane County Juvenile Department, Eugene, OR

When used with compassion, thoughtfulness, and respect, language becomes a powerful tool for liberation. We need Sharon Ellison's work in our homes, in our offices, and most of all, in our hearts. —Evelyn C. White, editor, The Black Woman's Health Book

Sharon Ellison’s thoughtful, simple approach to non-defensive communication has an element of the revolutionary and transformative in it. Her work stresses self-monitoring, creating clear boundaries, gathering information, balancing power and vulnerability, and truly dis-arming. Our congregations might be very different places if we all took Sharon’s work to heart . . . so might our world! —The Reverend Dr. Marni Harmon, Unitarian Church, Orlando, FL

Sharon Ellison held the attention of delegates all day with her excellent use of humor and insightful approach . . . [she] is a realist; . . . also persuasive about the need for more open communication methods . . . an invaluable course for anyone who is involved in negotiations of any kind. It was also refreshing to have someone challenging something as fundamental as our rules of communication without preaching or being too idealistic. —Katy Lawrence, Centre for Dispute Resolution, London, England

In a short time Sharon Ellison impacted the lives of hundreds of local human service and business professionals. —Betty Schnettler, Program Director, Stearns County United Way's Voluntary Action Center, St. Cloud, MN

I have participated in many workshops over the years and I have never witnessed such positive response from such a diverse group of people. People of every color, class background, and sexual orientation were present and each person indicated how helpful the skills were in both his/her personal and professional relationships. The experience also built a sense of community throughout the college. —Jennifer Biehn, Dean of Student Services, City College of San Francisco

Thank you for the wonderful workshop you facilitated at UC Berkeley for the Staff Diversity Facilitator Network. Like you, deep down inside, I have felt for as long as I can remember that there must be a better way for human beings to relate to one another and to resolve their conflicts. I believe you have found the key. You touched my Spirit and I knew this was the right way for me. I thank you for sharing your gift and I hope to do it justice as I share it with others. Much love and peace. —Carmen C. McKines, Informal Discrimination Complaint Resolution Officer, U.C. Berkeley

I believe this is the most powerful structure I've learned in my training as an Marriage and Family Counseling therapist. It has tremendous implications for most human interactions. —Bette Acuff, Ph.D., M.A., San Francisco, CA

I believe Sharon has developed a program that is nothing short of revolutionary. Sharon's model is built on a peace paradigm of communication that stresses respect, clarity and honesty. The surprise is that this peace model is much more powerful and effective than the war model. There is greater power when energy is spent on developing openness and clarity rather than defending, attacking, and persuading.

For the above reasons, I also believe that Peace Studies, a relatively new discipline, needs to be built on a footing of "powerful, Non-Defensive Communication." I highly recommend Sharon's workshop and perspective as a way of transforming our personal as well as social, political and work lives. —Kostas Bagakis, Philosophy and Peace Studies, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

Sharon Ellison's workshops took the campus and community by storm. I can easily say that in my five years in this position no speaker we have had has galvanized our community as effectively as Sharon Ellison did. I feel fortunate to have worked closely with Sharon Ellison, whose professional expertise and personal insight I find quite remarkable. She is truly a woman of courage and vision. —Mary De Shazer, Coordinator of Women's Studies, Wake Forest University

Sharon is one of the very few "white" teachers whom I've seen succeed in attracting a significant number of "non-white" learners. Over and over again, I've seen her facilitate sensitive communications about differences in race, religion, class status, etc., and leave people feeling connected instead of alienated, and enlightened instead of embattled. —Emily Zimmerman, Instructor, Korean Studies, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

Using a well-paced method of lecturing, questioning, discussing, incorporating student comments, role-playing, and using humor and personal anecdote effectively, Sharon held the interest of the students and gained their support. One young man, in fact, about 2/3 of the way through the class spontaneously volunteered that he had learned more about effective communication in 60 minutes than he had previously in his lifetime. Sharon's presentation was thought-provoking, useful, and inspirational. —Gerome Garger, Director of the Peace Studies Program, English and Social Science Departments, Lane Community College, Eugene, OR

As a mediator and trainer of mediators, I consider Sharon Ellison's Powerful, Non-Defensive communication to be the ultimate language of conflict management. On a practical level, fluency in PNDC provides me with a variety of useful tools for mediation, for example, how to formulate essential questions and ask them directly, without putting disputants on the defensive. In a large sense, PNDC provides a model of communication in which people with differences seek to understand one another in their full complexity, rather than engage in a simplistic power struggle. I highly recommend this training to anyone who wants to facilitate mediations that are not only successful, but actually transformative. —Mady Shumofsky, Conflict Management Consultant, Award winning mediator, member of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution

Once again you have made a significant impact on the lives of people in our community with your "Powerful, Non-Defensive Communication" workshop. As you are aware, the two sessions you held were well attended by folks who responded and participated with gusto, reporting immediate, successful application of your principles. —Michael Connelly, Director, Community Mediation Services, Eugene, OR

Given where we are at this time in our human history, I believe learning to communicate effectively is essential for our survival on the planet. I think learning the kind of Powerful, Non-Defensive Communication that Sharon teaches is an essential evolutionary step. —Jane Mara, M.S.W. Waldport, OR

After a decade of being on the public speakers circuit showing my films about world peace, it became clear to me that creating peace really does begin with the individual. I wanted to clean up my own act. I was looking for a way to help me communicate with clarity and an open heart. After searching for some time, I had the good fortune to find Sharon and Powerful Non-Defensive Communication. Her book is terrific and so are her workshops. I hope she reaches a critical mass, so we can all improve our lives personally and globally. —Vivienne Verdon-Roe Academy Award winner, Women for America, for the World

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