Jeff shares NVC in Japan at Asian Rural Institute

On my first full day in Japan, I led a day-long training at the Asian Rural Institute (ARI), for 25 people from 12 different countries in Africa and Asia.

All of them them, as far as I know, spoke English as a second language, and because there were so many different languages among them -- and because ARI's programs are all in English -- there was no interpreter.

It was quite challenging for me, as I had to speak VERY basic English in order for them to understand me. I used about 20% of my normal vocabulary, and spoke twice as slowly as I normally do... which was quite an adjustment.

I was most struck by the personal stories the participants shared, for example three people from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), who told of their encounters with the military government police, who struck them and others they know with the blunt end of their rifles, and who were punished for being on the street after 10 p.m.

It was rather difficult for them to "take in" the ideas of Nonviolent or Compassionate Communication, and my guess is that it's because they need a ton of empathy for how painful it is to live under these regimes.




Nonetheless, in spite of this, as well as the language difficulty, the feedback forms indicated that nearly everyone really enjoyed my presentation, which included several role play examples with the giraffe and jackal puppets, and plenty of empathy that I offered to the participants.

Again, it was quite a challenge to offer verbal empathy, as I reduced my available words by 80%, and yet I still enjoyed it and sensed that it connected with some people.