How can we communicate?
When the organizers of the Financial Permaculture Course convened on how we’d outline the structure of the event, we all agreed that we needed to start the event with a session on COMMUNICATION and Community Development Tools. We designed the session for the first day so that it would set the stage for effective group process and give people an opportunity to practice these useful community development tools.
Here is a website that has some great tools: www.permaculture.org.uk
Here are some of the tools that were discussed:
Think and Listen (image taken from http://sca21.wikia.com/wiki/Think_and_Listen)
One-on-One session that can last 2 minutes or more. One person talks and then the other listens without interrupting. Then the roles switch. Here are some benefits:
- Gratitude
- Listening
- Transcribing thinking
- Instructor Modeling
- Deep Listening
- Tell a Positive Story
- Honor and Respect Eachother
- Brainstorm
- Conciseness
- Paying Attention
- Harvesting Perspectives
- Design
- Intend to Attend (Attention)
What it is…..
Simply put, Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is a way of relating to ourselves and others, moment to moment, free of past reactions. By learning to identify your needs and express them powerfully, as well as to bring understanding to the needs of others, you can stay connected to what is alive in you and create a life that it is more fulfilling. (from http://www.cnvc.org/).
Discern and separate thinking and feeling and be able to discuss them. There is a need to separate ourselves from this to have meaningful discussions. Be clear when you are using I feel statements.
- I feel needs to be followed by an emotion (I feel like your action was not suitable - is not an example of an I feel statement, it is really an I think). I feel discouraged by the outcome of this situation and I’m wondering if we can discuss how our actions may have led me to this feeling.
- Try to move conversations towards upward spirals rather than downward spirals.
- Look for what is alive in people and search for what needs people have that are not being met.
Matters Arising
- During any event it’s important to capture comments, questions and ideas that warrant further conversation as a group or maybe one on one.
- Harvest matters arising during the event, best done after a think and listen.
- Have a place where this information can be collected throughout the day if someone wants to add to the list.
Design
- Articulate Goals (Survey)
- Site Analysis
- Design
- Implementation
- Evaluate
- Re-articulate our Goals and move through the process again (this makes it an outward spiral - as we move the design forward.)
There are a lot of different design models:
Food for thought —- “Anxiety is excitement without the breath”
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