Have you recently said something you wish you hadn’t? Or perhaps you are tired of banging your head against the wall to express yourself? Have you been thinking lately, what exactly is empathy, and how can I get some more, please?
Just in case you missed it, we are living through a global pandemic. And, the unrest over racial injustice is not going away. The West Coast is still on fire, quite literally, and the impact of Brexit looms over folks in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
So… exercising our collective empathy muscle is crucial to survival. But what does that look like in real time?
If you are living with your family and ready to throw them all out the window, or if you are struggling to communicate with friends or lead a meeting from your apartment, we promise this workshop will give you some concrete tools that you can start using immediately.
We will be working on:
Empathy: understanding others’ feelings and needs, and the behavior that comes as a result
Communication skills: clarity on how to express feelings and needs in a way that keeps a connection with others
Self-awareness: understanding our own needs, strengths and behaviors
Our goal for the workshop is for you to take away:
Concrete language and tools for communicating and connecting with colleagues, family members and friends
Confidence to offer empathy and know when your empathy tank is low
Greater awareness of human dynamics around us, and how we move through the world
We will be using a model of nonviolent communication which is rooted in the civil rights era and used by families and communities all over the world and by companies like Microsoft. The base of it comes from the work of civil rights leaders like John Lewis.
Who is this workshop for?
People wanting to communicate better with their coworkers, family, and friends
Teachers and educators needing some more empathy tools to get through the day
Leaders who are interested in being more compassionate and inclusive
Anyone who wants to cultivate compassionate communities around them
Whether you know us from previous workshops or are interested in learning about these communication strategies for the first time, you will learn something new and have a chance to practice some new skills.
Amy Fabrikant (www.amyfabrikant.com) and Kirsten Henning (www.kirstenhenning.com) are both certified and trained facilitators bringing people together from diverse communities, seeking integration and equity. This includes a wide range of people—from Girl Scouts to business leaders to folks working on restorative practices in schools.
Quick note:
This workshop is a shorter workshop for those interested in learning about the practices, as a bit of an overview, with active participation in a comfortable group setting.
Our Sunday afternoon is the longer workshop for those interested in an opportunity for practice and integration of the learning.