Nonviolent Communication: Ecological Communication in a State of Stress

3.6.2024

On May 8, the director of the Institute of Natural and Agrarian Sciences, Nataliia Matsai took, part in the training “Non-Violent Communication: Communication in a State of Stress”. 

Today, the issue of Non-Violent Communication is becoming more and more relevant in all spheres of activity and everyday life. This is an ecological method of communication, which is based on empathy, the ability to express one’s needs in an ecological way. In times of war, tension and anxiety in communication increases, so that new methods of communication are becoming relevant.

Communication under stress is a reality of our lives. Nonviolent communication (NVC) is a method of communication developed by the American psychologist Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, which is based on empathy – including self-empathy. It helps in difficult communication to better understand another person, to hear oneself and one’s own needs. If such communication becomes the norm, it reduces the level of conflict in the organization, team, family and community. Today, this method is widely distributed as part of corporate culture in companies and educational institutions.

During the training, participants deepened their knowledge of some principles of nonviolent communication developed by Marshall Rosenberg, practiced self-help through self-compassion exercises to reduce stress and establish a connection with their inner self. Communication in this connection gives more inner peace and stability, and will improve the quality of communication with other people.

The trainer at the event was Irmtraud KAUSHAT, a certified trainer of the International Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC). 25 years ago, she realized that peace begins inside and depends on how a person communicates with himself/herself. Irmtraud grew up in post-war Germany with a sense of guilt and shame about German history. Nonviolent communication helped her distinguish between guilt/shame and responsibility. It is from this responsibility, inspired by the work of Marshall Rosenberg, that Irmtraud has chosen a path for herself – to share Nonviolent Communication in regions of conflict, for example, Israel/Palestine, Kenya, Ukraine and Somalia, where she helps to support dialogue and social change. It is important to her to contribute to a world where everyone’s needs matter, where one’s own privilege is recognized and can be used to collaborate with people who have less access to resources.

According to the information of the ER INAS