Communication Skills to Speak Your Truth and Hear Others

Name: Communication Skills to Speak Your Truth and Hear Others
Rating: 4.7 (40 reviews)

Learn to be utterly authentic AND truly compassionate, and find win/win solutions in any conflict.

Created byJulie Lawrence

Last updated 9/2021

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

express yourself with such clarity that others really get you
be able to speak up when something is bothering you, without there being a conflict around it
find a quality of connection with others, in which you can truly be yourself
find win/win solutions, where everyone’s needs get met

Course content

6 sections • 52 lectures • 3h 21m total length

Welcome!2:53
Discover how nonviolent communication transformed a challenging parent-child relationship and learn daily exercises and experiments to practice, plus a commitment worksheet to finish the course.
How to get the most out of the course1:33
Where are we now? And where do we want to be?1:59
Explore why communication is hard using an island metaphor, and learn to speak your truth, hear what's upsetting you, and ask for what you want without conflict.
It’s not your fault!2:39
Explore how the language of domination and domination culture shape communication, then examine childhood patterns like hiding distress and yelling to apply nonviolent communication.
You have three quite different brains!4:33
Explore the three-brain model—lizard brain, mammal brain, and frontal cortex—via the hand model, and learn how triggering shuts down the frontal cortex, shaping communication and behavior.
What does "triggered" mean?0:21
Getting OUT of lizard brain1:46
Identify when the lizard brain is triggered. Learn to get safe through space or a hug, enabling calmer responses and helping others do the same.
Getting safe1:38
We can’t read minds2:51
Use the iceberg metaphor to recognize unseen feelings, beliefs, experiences, and fears under the surface, acknowledge you can't read minds, and embrace the no wonder principle to understand others' reactions.
The route – this thing called nonviolent communication0:27
The compass – guiding beliefs and values4:32
Navigate communication with the compass of guiding beliefs and values, recognizing you make sense and that community and safe perspectives help you move beyond shame.
Congratulations!2:09

What Do We Actually Want?4:41
Identify what you want by uncovering universal needs—being heard, understood, belonging, safety—and learn to express them clearly to speak your truth and hear others.
The Needs Underneath What We Do5:53
Identify the hidden needs driving our actions by examining the needs list and recognize that money is a strategy to meet deeper needs, connecting behavior to underlying motivations.
How Full Or Empty Are Your Needs Tanks?3:23
Discover how needs can stand alone (PLATO: person, location, action, time, object) and how empty affection tanks push us to seek multiple strategies for meeting them.
Congratulations!1:17

Are you worried about being "selfish"?0:17
How To Never Worry You’re Being “Selfish” Again4:33
Navigate the selfish to selfless spectrum and hold your needs and others' needs in a full balance. Being in touch with needs invites people to contribute and seek reassurance.
Selfish / Selfless / "Self-full"0:03
The Shift – Getting Into Self Connection5:37
Explore how self-connection to your feelings and needs, using the needs lists, helps you name what's beneath the feelings and practice NBC to matter to yourself.
Pocket Guide0:18
Being With Feelings9:07
Learn to be with difficult feelings by locating them in the body, using focusing to name sensations, greet inner parts, and cultivate self-empathy for emotional safety.
More resources0:09
Beauty Of The Needs4:14
Embrace the beauty of the need by accepting its importance, imagine how it could be met, and savor the joy of that meeting while holding hope for its future.
Strategies4:05
Explore how identifying and sitting with your needs guides you to authentic strategies through nonviolent communication, triggering inner shifts and gradual, holistic ways to meet belonging and authenticity.
Congratulations!0:45

Introduction2:40
Explore a four-step model for expressing needs with clarity and without blame, by identifying roadblocks, describing observations, naming feelings, and making clear requests to influence outcomes.
Roadblocks7:07
Discover common roadblocks to communication, including fixing, making it about yourself, shutting down feelings, judging, and avoiding topics, and learn to listen first with empathy before education.
Observations7:22
Learn the first step of the four-step NBC process: make observations, not judgments, by describing what happened, without always or never, so you can express your feelings honestly.
Requests10:08
Make clear requests by specifying the action and timing, differentiating requests from demands. Practice nonviolent communication to invite yes or no and maintain connection.
Two types of requests0:54
Feelings4:50
Identify and label actual feelings in the body to calm the amygdala, move beyond faux feeling words, and gain clearer control over responses, not blame others.
Feelings overview
Layers Of Feelings, Causes Of Feelings9:32
Explore layers of feelings and how confusion yields clarity. Learn that feelings come from needs and thoughts, not blame, and how to speak up to be heard.
Congratulations!0:45

Intro – Using The 4 Steps Together2:57
Learn to apply the four steps—observation, feelings, needs, and request—through practical examples in module five, clarifying triggers, unpacking emotions, and identifying actionable next steps.
Use my free online tool1:36
OFNR Example – Son Not Doing Homework3:12
Demonstrate an OFNR example using the NBC model by recording observations, naming feelings and needs, and formulating a constructive request for a son who hasn't done homework, without a worksheet.
OFNR Example – Friends Not Coming To Group3:32
Explore how an OFNR example from a practice group reveals honest reflection on feelings and needs, helping process absence, reduce reactivity, and foster gratitude for group support.
OFNR Example – Triggering Comments In Facebook Group2:53
I share an OFNR example where a Facebook group changes to secret, triggering comments, revealing belonging needs and transforming anger into compassion.
More Nuanced OFNR – Centrelink Example7:19
Explore nuanced NVC in a Centrelink call, using journaling, observations, feelings, needs, and requests to process distress and seek understanding.
Making OFNR Guesses About The Other Person7:27
Learn to make OFNR guesses about another person by first practicing self-empathy, then empathy for others, using observation, feelings, needs, and requests to foster understanding.
Enneagram links0:26
OFNR For Other – Example4:47
Apply ofnr for other to map the other person’s possible feelings and needs, then reframe interaction through care, visibility, and security toward practical requests.

Saying It Out Loud – Connected Conversations12:53
Learn how to say it out loud using nonviolent communication to express feelings and needs, check in with others, guess their needs, and cultivate connection and honesty to be heard.
Managing What You Get Back5:37
Learn to handle difficult responses in conversations by naming triggers, requesting time-outs to protect both parties, and translating others' words into underlying needs using NBC.
Using NVC In The Moment7:16
Use NVC in the moment by applying self-empathy and identifying your feelings and needs. Ask for what you’re needing to move the conversation forward with curiosity and clarity.
Getting Better At NVC6:28
Practice daily NVC in writing, cultivate gratitude, and observe feelings and needs to express them clearly, building neural pathways for better relationships.
Other Ways To Use NVC9:15
Explore practical uses of NVC across relationships, from expressing needs, gratitude, and unpacking judgments to translating needs for kids, setting boundaries, and crafting clear requests.
Troubleshooting5:32
Troubleshooting NBC by returning to connection with self, unpacking layers of need from belonging to safety, and prioritizing empathy before education for better communication.
Where To Next? Resources4:37
Review the course through repeated NBC practice, build a daily routine, and explore resources, trainers, and practice groups to deepen compassionate truth-telling.
Congratulations!0:52

Requirements

None

Description

Whether at home or at work, there's nothing more important in life than our relationship with ourselves, and with others, yet most of us aren't taught how to truly connect. So much of our culture teaches us to disconnect, from ourselves and from others. It turns out, authentic connection is a learnable skill, with some simple "how to" steps. It starts with an understanding of the shared human needs that drive every single thing we do, which gives us common ground to work from.

In this course, you'll learn to create a relationship with yourself that changes everything. You'll find clarity about what you truly want, and explore ways to move towards finding that in your life. You'll learn a simple tool that can make a profound difference in all your relationships, enabling you to speak your truth “quietly and clearly”, with both authenticity and compassion.

You will learn the "how to" of authentic connection – how to speak up for yourself in ways that work to create connection rather than conflict, and find win/win solutions – based mostly on Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg (“nonviolent” meaning “to do no harm”) with splashings of Inner Relationship Focusing, the Enneagram, Polyvagal theory and other frameworks. Learning this can help you meet needs for being heard/seen, agency, competence, authenticity and belonging. Ultimately, it’s really about learning how to be comfortable in your own skin, and being able to truly be yourself.

These skills can be applied in all avenues of your life - at work, at home, with your friends, with your enemies. They can improve your leadership and management skills at work, and deepen your personal relationships.

What Will I Learn?

Feelings literacy (sensing what's going on in body, being in relationship with it)
Needs literacy
How to talk about feelings and needs, without blame or demand
Exactly HOW to bring up a difficult issue with someone, in a way that will be much more likely to be heard.
How to get clear on exactly what it is you're wanting in a situation
Be able to work WITH the other person to find a solution that works for both of you, or, find other solutions that are equally satisfying to you, even if the other person isn't willing to talk or negotiate.
How to naturally have more compassion for self and others
How not to take things personally - aware that everyone else is just trying to meet their needs, and it's not about US.

Who this course is for:

Anyone who wants more connection, ease and clarity, and less conflict, in their lives

Communication Skills to Speak Your Truth and Hear Others

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction12 lectures • 27min

Needs – The longings of our hearts - or, Why we do everything we do4 lectures • 15min

Needs vs Strategies10 lectures • 29min

The Other Steps – Observation, Feelings, Requests9 lectures • 43min

Using all 4 steps together9 lectures • 34min

Speaking up8 lectures • 53min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: