Heart Talk is nothing short of miraculous as it provides a kid-friendly system of communication while simultaneously supporting each child’s development as a critical thinker and problem solver, an articulate communicator and mediator and, an engaged, compassionate and productive member of the school community and beyond—someone who acts from a deeply rooted sense of duty.

I first had the opportunity to see the ideas of Jeff and Traci in action as the parent of a child in their first grade class. The caring classroom they created for (and with) their students touched me deeply, and as a parent I too felt enfolded in their ever-growing circle of love and concern. I was delighted when Jeff and Traci agreed to present their framework for Creating Compassionate Learning Communities to my graduate students in education at the University of Colorado, Denver. I found their framework to be not only a comprehensive and insightful distillation of their many years of hard work and dedication, but also a compelling and useful model for guiding the practice of teachers in training. I have heard nothing but rave reviews of their presentation and hope that many other students, teachers, administrators, and parents will have the opportunity to be touched by the compassionate spirit of their work.

Every student should have the chance to go through a “school of life” like yours. The children who do are prepared for so much more than how to do well in school. Every day they are learning about what’s important in life. Our time with you was magical, one of the most important family experiences we've ever had. Everyone should have the chance to learn from and with you two caring people. We learned more about love and life during that period, than from any other experience so far. Our two sons, and our family, are richer as a result of spending two years in such a beautiful learning environment.

Last year, when our son had seen a school performance on stage he said, ‘I’ll never do that’, then, with you, he did it, and he did it so big, and with such confidence.  It was like he was a different person.  We had never seen that person before. Now he knows what he can do—Anything!  He believes that in a way we hadn’t thought possible.

Learning with heart is like coming out of the darkness into the light. I want to stay there forever. Thank you for teaching me Heart Talk, and thank you for reflecting my light. You have improved my life so much.

Since she is the only child, with no siblings, it was a concern that our daughter is self centered and had no room for compromise. Rather than putting English education first, Jeff and Traci as teachers placed teachings for her heart as their priority since their very first meeting with her.  When I asked her what she’d learned the first day of class, she answered that she did not learn English.  Instead, she learned how to treat people well, and instructions for school life from an upper grade girl, and once she got used to it, she wanted to do the same as a guide to other students.  She was very grateful, and she seemed to feel her priceless self.  Having and making these thoughts of living together by helping each other is Jeff and Traci’s philosophy in education.  We could not be more happy with what our daughter has learned, not only the English, and traditional subjects, but about caring.

Our daughter says that you are the best teachers she's ever had. For her, the two years with you will be a precious memory in her life. You are not only her teachers, but also her best friends. From the way she talked and the words she used, I can tell that she has such an enthusiasm about school life and learning. Unlike traditional classes I have seen, you run your class in a way that makes all the kids feel loved and cared for, and nobody is left behind even though he or she could only speak a little English. For our daughter, what she's learned from you is not only so much knowledge, and how to learn anything on her own, but also love and passion towards the world around us. She learned to take care of our environment by collecting for the recycle boxes, to care for animals by doing important research, and performing in the endangered animal performance, to help people in need by working with them and donation of her own pocket money. We are so glad to see that she is now a child who cares about others.

Thank you for a lifetime’s worth of wonderful lessons, both for our three boys and for us! If every child could learn with you, the world would be a better place!

A big change our daughter has from being with you is that she becomes much more confident in herself. Before learning with you, she was a little girl who wanted to be "perfect.” She didn't like to make mistakes, she was always cautious about her behavior in school and class marks she got from her teacher. In your class, you accept her mistakes with love, and encourage her to open herself. One day she came back home and told me that Traci made a little mistake in class and she said "silly me" in front of students, and celebrated what she had just learned from her mistake. Our daughter said: Mum, everybody makes mistakes. We learn from our mistakes. She is a happier girl because she knows that nobody needs to be perfect.

I’m sure you two are not from this planet. You are amazing, how you lead, how you teach. The best teachers. The best learning. Our son has caught up! We are so proud of how he’s grown as a serious learner after being so far behind! Our deepest thanks to you!

We never would have believed our daughter would be able to do the things she’s done this year, not only how great a reader and writer she is, but her confidence.  We never thought she had it in her.  She has blossomed beyond words.

I would like to give gratefulness to you. I quickly got to know that you were kind, and really good people . . . owing to your love, my son gets warm-hearted. For the last two years, he was better changed to love himself and other people, animals and the earth, and to have a big heart of generosity. I realize that was even more important than learning English for him. He will recall every moment with you, and grow up with those beautiful memories in his heart. With our different cultures we had some troubles with communication sometime but you said to trust you, and you carried out with your beliefs. I really appreciate that you did. It was grace of God for our son to study with you. He learned so much and he will grow up a nice and healthy minded person. This is the way for him to reward you and the world for your teaching and love.

The Personal Journal our daughter wrote with Jeff and Traci connected her and her teachers with an invisible string of love, a place where she shared her pain, joy, and other such emotions and feelings.  It also made a common ground for both, and a place where careful advice and respect was shared. It contributed to her important growth as a writer and as a reader. She thinks of books as her friends. And it contributed to her understanding and love of others.

The other day, our daughter took her own money and made several donations at various booths at the Creek Festival . . . Thank you endlessly and forever for helping to shape her into the wonderful person she is choosing to become.

The most memorable education among the times we spent together was the PPU (Peace Productions Unlimited) production, to protect the Earth’s environments and help children in starvation. Stage, backdrops, props, masks, posters, coloring books, calendars, tickets, and t-shirts were prepared by the students, from their own ideas.  Seeing the times of hard work and practice until going up on stage made me so proud of them, and they were so loving that no words could express.  During and after the performance we could know how much warm teachings my child was getting—through her eyes, she shared it with other children and with us.  Jeff and Traci not only presented knowledge about science and reading, writing and art, through PPU, but also the importance of warm hearts, and of showing a bright future that the children could make.

What a gift your creativity and passion have been to our whole family, and to our son in particular. If I could possibly go back to first grade, this is where I would choose to be—with you both!! God certainly put you on this earth for a reason and you have been, and are living it for all it’s worth. Thank you, thank you!!

You have had such an incredible impact on our precious daughter! She is so aware of how much she is loved by you, and this has given her such a secure feeling in the world.

You did such great and hard work, with much sympathy and dedication. We know that isn’t always easy with the hard life of Congo. Our son grew and learned and matured so much.

Your endless passion inspires us to see teaching as a gift of love, hope and honor for each and every child. Your boundless hearts will live on in our daughter and son forever.

I have never seen a school where there is so much love. Everybody needs genuine love, and genuine love is very difficult to find. All I see in your school is unconditional and genuine love. The school is such a safe place for learning. Kids from all over the world loving each other. The performance was an unforgettable experience—it united all the school’s families of the school, reminding us we are all one big family no matter where we come from. Your trust in each student, and the confidence you build in them, are amazing, including how they resolve their conflicts and share their feelings, without blaming anyone! You are agents of change. You are incredible and encouraging leaders, creating a sweet, humble, loving, respectful, caring family that should be everywhere in the world.

Last week, our daughter said the most amazing thing.  She said that she was thinking of growing up to become a teacher like the two of you.  Not just a teacher, but a teacher who teaches what you teach, about love and compassion, connection and equality.  She added, "I've never thought of becoming a teacher before."  So you see how much inspiration you've given one sensitive, thoughtful middle school student?  I told her nothing would make me prouder than if she grew up to be a teacher carrying on the spirit and substance of what you teach.  It's wonderful that she has been able to participate in Peace Productions Unlimited at important and different moments in her development, as a young performer and as a middle school director.

My two children only have good memories from their time with you during the last years they stayed there. At the beginning of this school year they had some small problems in their new school, because they were the new kids in the class, but as my daughter explained to us, she applied a technique she was taught by you: to build a mental barrier against bad comments against her, and to speak from her heart, AND IT WORKED. The other children respected her confidence and strong ideas. Now, both children have a new group of friends and are enjoying attending the school and the learning process. We, as parents, feel lucky that our children had the opportunity to learn so many important lessons from you that I am sure will be useful for the rest of their lives, so thank you very much for that and for so much more.

We are thankful for your being such amazing mentors, teachers, and gurus. You have touched us with your contagious goodness and optimism. You have reminded us of the highest part of ourselves, and how to live in accordance with that. Thank you for the positive impact you have had on our lives, and thank you for your insight and ability to see our daughter’s essence and being.

Four years ago, my son blossomed from a shy little boy struggling for confidence, into a competent, confident, compassionate boy who, thanks to you two, has a wonderful sense of who he is, what he is worth, and what impact he can have on this world.   We are a better country, better people, better world, with the things you taught, and many other things I may have argued against a few years ago. My belief system changed, ALL BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT YOU HAD ON MY SON AND MY FAMILY. Thank you!

From across the ocean, I can feel their (Jeff and Traci) smiles.  Jeff and Traci, through their warm smiles, showed us so many experiences, thoughts, knowledge, love, living by helping, and dreaming towards the world.  To our daughter and our family, they will be remembered as angels sent by God forever.

Why doesn't every teacher in the world teach like this? Where kids' hearts matter just as much as their brains. Maybe even more. Your teaching lights up the room.

Learning with heart is like coming out of the darkness into the light. I want to stay there forever. Thank you for teaching me Heart Talk, and thank you for reflecting my light. You have improved my life so much. Without you I wouldn’t be the boy I am today.

You teach in your own very special way. You shine your light on us, and soon I hope you will shine your light on the whole world.

This is what all schools should be like. Kids love to come and never want to leave.

This is the best school ever. I love school and I love you for teaching me like you do.  Learning is fun.

Thank you for giving me the freedom to learn the way I learn best, and the freedom to write what is important to me.

I thank the world for giving me Jeff and Traci—they are my life teachers. Those were my two best years of school. I learned so much. I know we will always be connected by invisible strings of love.

I love you more than the whole wide world. I wish you could stay at every school I went to so I could always learn with you.

You accept our mistakes with love and open hearts. Now I know nobody has to be perfect to be perfect.

I know I have to say goodbye. I’m really, really going to miss you. This goodbye is really hard for me because this past year you helped me stay together when my grandma died and my mom broke her leg. I’m really sad right now, because I’m letting go of all my feelings and I’m letting go of you. I love you.

There is nothing better you can do for a person than to sincerely listen and devote yourself to them when they need you. When you would talk to my sad, six-year old self, I was the only one that existed to you in that moment; in a room of 36 little boys and girls, the two of you had time for all of us, and if you didn’t you made it anyway. To feel that appreciated and loved is an irreplaceable feeling. You are the most influential people in my life and even at 17 your lessons are still teaching me today. I thank you so much more than I can share with words, for teaching me the things you have, for teaching me in the way you have, and above all, I thank you for loving me and making me who I am. (Excerpted from a high school essay.)

Thank you for teaching us strategies that help us calm down more easily so we can solve problems. I really appreciate the work that you are doing. I am going to try really hard to calm down and not get mad. I want to connect with my friends.

We’re all connected.  That’s what I’ve learned.  It’s the same with people like it is with animals, if we kill one kind of animal, then another one will die, the one that eats that one, and another, and another, and finally, us.  We can’t let that happen. We have to look out for one another. We’re all connected.

Everyday, when we do the work we do in this class, we are sending out a tsunami of love, an invisible wave that goes all across the world.  People we don’t even know will feel it.  We’re all connected, everywhere, we’re all family.

I’ve learned so much, about directing and teaching, but even more, about myself, about what is important, and about what I can do.  I can’t even describe it all, it’s so big.

I couldn’t wait to get out of the school; I was so ready to leave.  Then Peace Productions Unlimited work happened.  I got to work with all of you. I feel so connected now.  Now I can’t imagine ever leaving.

Now, I know what I want to do.  I want to teach.  I want to teach first grade. I come to the first grade room and feel unconditional love from everyone—working on PPU lifts me up—this is my favorite place in the school.  I absolutely have to do something to make a difference.  I know that now.

You have helped us grow and become the people we are today. Thank you for teaching us peace, friendship, love, and to be ourselves inside and out. You have helped us to realize our greatness and abilities in the world. You have helped us to take care of those who are not so well off and need assistance.  You help make this world a better place every day. You enlighten us to follow our dreams and see faith in everything that we do. You have sent out so many ripples of love, hope, peace and kindness. They have lifted up so many hearts, including ours!

I loved the class discussions, reflection papers, and being able to see and teach first hand at my placement school. Jeff and Traci are the best professors I have had at the university. They always take the time to help you and they are very kind and caring. They are the best.

Great course! Wonderful, amazing teachers, with huge hearts and compassion.  They really seemed to love us all. I loved taking time to get to know one another and build a loving class community. We were all one.

I loved having my eyes opened to the situations that many students face. This was a great course to better understand how ELL kids think, and how to help them succeed.

I wish we could have a class sleepover like Jeff and Traci do with their elementary students! This is the best class any student will take here. I just can’t say enough good things about the class or the teachers.

I loved the variety of teaching methods Jeff and Traci used, and the meaningful relationships I built with them and the other students. They are the most supportive teachers I’ve ever had. The resources we got were great, and I gained so much confidence in myself as a practicing teacher. I gained so much more than knowledge about teaching in this course.

I loved being in class and hearing about Jeff and Traci’s experiences, what has worked for them or not worked and why. It was great seeing other teachers teach and getting ideas from watching their teaching styles. I really learned how to successfully help ELL/ESL/etc students feel comfortable and learn in the classroom, and I also learned a lot about myself, what I value, and my dreams for my own classroom. It was an exceptional class!!

I loved being able to go out to schools and actually see what we learned about. The teachers are amazing and make the course very enjoyable. It’s challenging yet fun.

I really loved the continual, specific and detailed and personal feedback Jeff and Traci gave, especially with regard to my sheltered lesson at the end of the semester. The emphasis on building relationships was not only taught but experienced. This was the most helpful education class I’ve had.

Jeff and Traci are phenomenal teachers! Their enthusiasm and love for the profession was amazing and contagious. I grew not only academically, but as a person and an educator. This course was so much more than an ELL theory and strategy class. I learned how to care for my students and help them to be caring individuals. Jeff and Traci truly care for the whole person, for every single student.

I loved attending the class every week. This was one of the best courses I’ve ever taken. I learned so much. Jeff and Traci were the best teachers I’ve ever had. They truly are amazing human beings. A wonderful class!

I loved the entire learning process. Every class was full of energy and extremely well planned. Jeff and Traci’s passion for teaching is second to none.

Everything I learned in this course will ultimately make me a better person and better teacher. I appreciated everything we did in class and at our outside placement. It’s the best class I’ve ever taken. The professors were fantastic!

I have always known what kind of teacher I wanted to be, but the two of you gave me a model of how to do that, through your class, your stories, and your actions. You are great teachers, knowledgeable, flexible and patient. You’re the best! I cannot thank you enough!

I appreciated teachers who were focused on our learning and development as future educators. You were the best role models to have as future educators. I walked out of class with tools I could use now in my classroom.

Jeff and Traci possess a very clear understanding of all the material related to compassionate communication, but more importantly, they are deeply vested in bringing the gifts of compassionate communication to everyone, to help enrich their lives and relationships.

Jeff and Traci take the work of Marshall Rosenberg and frame it in a way that it is immediately usable in a classroom setting. They offer support to teachers who may be struggling with implementing NVC (Nonviolent Communication) in the “real world” of an elementary class, as well as valuable information for those who are new to the concepts.

They are energetic and honest! I learned to stop and to think—to think about my feelings and needs and the other person’s feelings and needs. Empathy and listening are hard, but so important to learn. Working with teachers is just as valuable as working with kids in the classroom.

It was very useful and well thought out. I especially liked how they translated the NVC language into kid-friendly language. I loved Jeff and Traci’s energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge. I feel a refreshed and renewed passion for, and commitment to this powerful work.

Jeff and Traci bring peaceful and evolved ideas to the classroom!

The content was very clear and the information shared was great! It worked really well your sharing the information together. I definitely felt your passion for your work, which is very refreshing. I got lots of good ideas.

It was really engaging! I really enjoyed your ideas about creating classroom community and about taking the first six weeks or more to establish it. I will take longer to establish my classroom community next year.

I really enjoyed the content. There were so many great ideas that I took away with me.  I really appreciate your framework, and the 5 Contributors to Creating a Compassionate Learning Community. I loved the “Thank You Wall,” Peace Productions Unlimited, The Ripple Effect, “The Little Boy” poem, and so much more.

WOW! I will take so much away with me. Especially about how important building trust and providing a safe environment are. I love the idea of strictly working on building a classroom community for the first six to eight weeks!

The information and ideas that were explored in your workshop were very empowering and inspiring. The ideas for how to inspire learning in children were fantastic. I would recommend this workshop to anyone, to encourage the development of their educational philosophy and their creativity.

Jeff and Traci were both very passionate about their findings and explorations. I think that what the two of you have created is wonderful. You two have developed a great piece to bring into the schools.  Your framework and the five contributors were very interesting, and I think it is amazing how the two of you have traveled to and have worked in different schools in the world, and how you work as a team and involve children in such compassion.

WONDERFUL!! Everything a school/classroom should strive for. So many different needs are addressed in your framework, and the children are able to take such pride in their learning, and then take their knowledge out into the larger community.

I loved the topic of creating compassionate learning communities, and the wide variety of experiences you have had and shared. You had enough experience to know what works and what doesn’t. Your presentation was very organized and I loved the respect you had for each other and us.

Thank you! I have been struggling this year with my frustration and anger that was coming up when my son and I interacted about schoolwork. I couldn't figure it out....where was it coming from????   No hypothesis was getting at the core. You both held a safe and thought provoking space last weekend that helped me see the elephant in the room and boy it's the size of T Rex!   I have connected with two friends who have helped me to frame it more precisely for myself (some core belief work) and I have cried and cried and boy does it feel great!!!!  The last two nights I have worked with him and IT HAS SHIFTED!!! What amazed me most was that he was able to tell me what he was feeling and he cried—yay—or maybe I was finally able to listen.....or both. More than this, I learned a few new ways to look at things. Thank you for this peace!

I loved this workshop! You did great modeling of empathy with the participants, and you gave great examples. I especially loved learning how powerful expressing my own vulnerability can be in eliciting another’s empathy.

I loved how friendly and relaxed the facilitators are. It made me feel the same way. I will go home and do a family mission statement, and have a family meeting. This work feels very doable and concrete, not “new agey” like I thought it might be. This gave me a place to start. Sometimes communication seems so big. I like having little pieces to break off.

The workshop was very good—heart-warming—it relieved my sense of panic around the need I see for it in our parent community. You were so respectful and supportive, creating the kind of safety that helped people feel comfortable sharing their confusions and struggles. Thank you for filling this need and for keeping our school community on a communication high note!!!

This workshop was chock full of ways to TALK more with our kids, rather than DEMAND from them. I felt comfortable asking for help in every moment.

The workshop met my need for support as a parent and person, by providing wonderful tools to connect better with the people around me and become a better parent. There was a balanced two-way flow between the leaders and the audience. The leaders were present and connected with the audience which kept the content alive for me.

I appreciated the questions and personal experiences of the facilitators’ and participants’ situations that arose that made me reflect and ponder my own relationships.  The facilitators did a beautiful job presenting the model. You made it understandable and possible. I know that I will stumble through the practice of always communicating compassionately but I am more aware now, which is the first step. Thank you.

Outstanding! I have been struggling for many years with conflict with my daughters, especially my youngest, and this workshop has already helped.  I feel like a new way to communicate has been given to me. Thank you! And, although they don’t know it yet, my daughters “thank you” too!

The two of you were excellent facilitators, and very respectful in meeting the hungry needs of the participants. I learned so much, and I take away an increased awareness, and many excellent strategies to practice. I have much deep gratitude for your impeccable, heartfelt, and heart connecting work. It ripples far.

In the Alternatives to Violence workshops I’ve taken, for years we have struggled with “I messages” worksheets and handouts. The Communicating Compassionately model and accompanying diagram is the best I’ve seen—combining it with empathy is excellent.

The workshop was filled with love and hope, hope for a more compassionate future—for me personally and for the world. The leaders were also filled with love and hope, knowledge, skill, fun, and kindness. The ideas presented are really helpful, so many techniques and skills to practice. I have already (last night) referred to them and will again, in about 10 minutes!

I really appreciated the empirically based content and activities. The handouts were great and the facilitators skill was very emotional and true.

Awesome! You two have taken Marshall’s (Rosenberg) work to a whole new level! You go! You were brilliant, clear, sincere, amazing, enriching, humorous, beautiful, and many more adjectives as well. You provide many reminders of what I already knew, plus a deepening, and a more profound understanding of it. Many “AHA” moments. I am really getting it that I need frequent, regular support in this—a practice group. It’s like yoga; if I know it in my head, but don’t go to a class, it slips away.

You were so friendly, inviting and helpful. I came away with such hope, and also with reminders that life is a work in progress, that there are other people experiencing similar things to me, and that it’s never too late. Thank you!

I now have a thorough understanding of compassionate communication, for not having known much coming in.  The hybrid you provided of content and personal experiences was very valuable and enlightening.  The workshop was very well thought out, informative and dynamic. It was wonderfully and compassionately presented.

It was a surprise, an invitation, and in the end a revelation. We (my wife and I), as educators and parents, likewise have a need to give to children. Your shared experiences we shall value greatly, and we leave with HOPE!

Thank you! This is just what I needed to learn more, and to give me time to dig deeper—so much to learn. It really got my mind going . . . lots of nuggets to think about and try out. Thanks for sharing lots of examples and stories to illustrate. Your facilitation was wonderful! It met my need for learning and growing and community and empathy. I have so many new ideas to try out. Thank you!!

I am inspired by experiencing the tip of the compassionate communication iceberg, and found that the content very much resonated with me. There was a very good balance of discussions, presentation of topics, and activities such that I was not bored or distracted. I was delighted by how easy it all seems, and also relished in the whole paradigm shift that compassionate communication presents as an “attitude of gratitude.” The facilitators were relaxed, optimistic, supportive and encouraging. I truly cannot wait to apply all of these concepts in my life!

I appreciated the opportunities to go with the flow of the group and I believe, because of that “open” schedule, the true needs of the group were met.  Can’t wait to get to a better understanding and to a more healing place regarding my own positions of consciousness (“deep grooves”). I appreciate how heartfelt the entire experience was for all of us. I love knowing that all of us who were here, when passing each other in our lives outside of this moment, will greet each other knowing we are all in this life from a heartfelt place.

Heart Talk should be shared with the world! As the parent of a child with significant social thinking challenges, I am forever grateful to Jeff and Traci for teaching our family this model of compassionate communication. Not only does it teach my son perspective-taking in a meaningful context, it helps his father and me understand the thoughts and feelings behind behaviors that we might otherwise misinterpret. Heart Talk has brought us closer together as a family, and will continue to influence how we solve problems and show gratitude towards one another. As an early childhood educator, I have also been able to experience the rich benefits of using Heart Talk in a classroom setting. In moments of conflict, the Heart Prep process allows children the critical time and space they need to calm their hearts and minds for communication—and this makes all the difference. There is no winner or loser in compassionate communication, only a deeper level of understanding for other human beings. In my opinion, that is the most important education of all.

For our family, Heart Talk training gives a practical, yet subtly complex, framework for communicating in a connected and respectful way with each other and our kids.  When we truly use it, it works!  Heart talk combines the concepts of neurophysiology and the psychology of communication into understandable concepts that we can relate to and practice.  To hear our kids talk about using strategies to “bring the blood to the front of the brain” is quite impressive—they get it!  So much of our day we, as a culture, spend reacting and judging without even realizing it; Heart Talk provides a framework to be better able to observe, connect and respond in ways that bring us closer as humans.  Thank you for this wonderful training. We plan to come back again and again.

When I first took part in a Compassionate Communication workshop I expected to learn some tools to help me raise "good kids." I was totally wrong. Compassionate Communication helps you start to figure out who your child really is, embrace that and allow them to be happy as they are, help them to build their core and base to be confident and kind whatever their future holds in this world. And the most amazing thing is that this is not only between parent and child. We can also consider family, friends and even people we have just met. My children are learning quicker than me, and sometimes they help me to be a compassionate communicator! This is one of most amazing things we can teach to our children, as we learn and grow together with them. My boys have a very diverse background but these skills will help them in any culture and any situation. Thank you C3!

The meetings have showed some important ways to deal with a child that never crossed my mind. One of the issues discussed was when addressing a child there is "request versus demand".  Prior to attending the Heart Talk workshops I had not given it much thought. But I know now there is a difference in how what you say can be perceived.  Adults don't like demands and neither do little people. I also learned it's okay to apologize to your child.  Just because we are adults that doesn't always mean we are right.

Compassionate Communication (Heart Talk, in our family’s vocabulary) has been a life-changing skill for us. Our 5-year-old son was struggling to contain the new emotions he began experiencing his first weeks of kindergarten – isolation, neediness, inadequacy – and at home these were expressed as sadness, rage, and frustration. We desperately needed a common vocabulary that we could use to communicate during these intensely emotional times, and Heart Talk provided that. Our son taught it to us, not the other way around, and it was just so completely obvious how well it allowed us to express our needs without evoking the kinds of reactions in others that would immediately derail the conversation. Naturally, we now find ourselves wanting to learn more about "Heart Talk". Using these same strategies when communicating has forever improved the way we communicate not only in our family but also outside our home, with other adults in our daily life.

I really enjoyed it and learned a lot!  The content was challenging for me in some areas because it is such a different way of communicating than I have been practicing for 45 years.  I have read a few of Marshall Rosenberg’s books since becoming a mom, but I found it hard to apply. I am excited about the opportunity to practice these skills through the workshops with the two of you.