Training Options:
Community

Mediation

Workshops:

Basic Description

Participant
Comments

Training
Applications:
Social Activist
Spiritual

Client List

Other Trainings:
Personal
Professional

Community Training Options

Workshops, Group Facilitation & Mediations

There is quite a bit of overlap between "Professional Organizations" and "Community Organizations." The types of organizations we have chosen to list here are those that may have some paid professionals, but also have a population of members and/or volunteers.

These organizations are generally focused on building and transforming communities on a local and/or global level. Social activist groups, political groups, spiritual communities, cooperatives, school boards, public service or civic organizations are included here. Some not-for-profits might also be involved in training for community organizations.

Traditional communication methods in many cultural traditions are based on an adversarial process that causes people to be afraid of others who are different than they are. People from various groups with different values, lifestyles, and agendas become often judge each other harshly.

The ways that we have used argument as the model for processing disagreement not only causes individuals to engage in power struggle; it can cause diverse groups in any community to become polarized and engage in destructive conflicts with each other. Ultimately, using an adversarial communication model can lead to physical violence and war within and among various communities of people.

Sharon and the PNDC Consortium of Trainers offer workshops for community based groups based on Powerful Non-Defensive Communication, creating a new kind of dialogue, which actually diffuses defensiveness and power struggle and facilities healing and resolution. We can provide workshops for any individual community organization or facilitate meetings among community groups with diverse interests and agendas. We also facilitate mediations when needed. The Training Applications for Community Organizations, Social Activist Organizations, and Spiritual Communities all focus on some common issues, but also have areas of training that are more unique to their individual functions.

The non-defensive ways of listening and speaking we offer give people the skills needed to speak with honesty and passion while being respectful of others across lines of difference. These skills can be used in any meeting to facilitate creative problem solving. Also, they are invaluable as people engage in intense work to create solutions for systemic social issues, such as those related to justice, education, hunger, domestic violence, crime, and war. We believe that the non-defensive process we teach provides a foundation for diverse organizations to achieve their goals while strengthening, rather than dividing, the community.

We see Powerful Non-Defensive Communication as a language for peace.

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