When Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft, he took a bold step to transform the company’s toxic culture. He gave each member of his senior leadership team a copy of Marshall B. Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. At the time, Microsoft was plagued by hostility, infighting, and backstabbing among its top executives. Nadella’s initiative aimed to initiate a cultural turnaround and became a pivotal step in reshaping Microsoft’s corporate ethos.

As the workplace environment continues to evolve, new challenges arise that impact collaboration and the quality of relationships. Are you struggling with communication issues that lead to impasses? Do you want to enhance your communication skills to foster a more cooperative and productive environment?

About this Nonviolent Communication (NVC) Level One course

• Transformational communication tools you can immediately apply in your daily life.
• Learn how to express yourself to others, listen to others, and listen compassionately to yourself in order to communicate effectively with your co-workers.
• Learn how to work constructively with your boss (if you have one)
• Improve your job prospects
• Change the culture in your team from competition to collaboration (to the extent that you can).
• Make use of experiential learning – working with situations from your work life.
• This training is a recognised stepping stone to further NVC courses.

Introducing NVC to your organization has these benefits:

• A reduction in conversations behind people’s back and increase in willingness to attend to conflict.
• Clarity about decision-making authority within the organization.
• Alignment of authority and responsibility for individuals.
• Increased buy-in for projects.
• A reduction in the number of sick days and staff turnover.

Book your place now

A six week journey – what you can expect

Week 1: The Foundation of Collaboration
You will begin by redefining workplace culture. You’ll learn how the quality of your professional relationships directly impacts your team’s efficiency, and how to shift from simple cooperation to creative collaboration.

Week 2: Navigating Tension – Conflict as Information
Conflict doesn’t have to be a roadblock. This week, you learn to understand what is happening in difficult moments, transforming workplace friction into fuel for growth and learning.

Week 3: Self-Connection for High Productivity
High performance starts within. You’ll explore how self-connection reduces burnout and sharpens focus. By staying grounded in your own needs, you can stay productive and clear-headed.

Week 4: Empathy – Listening that Leads to Action
Empathy is a professional superpower. This week, you’ll practice “Listening to Collaborate” – learning how to hear what colleagues need so you can reach agreements faster and avoid costly misunderstandings.

Week 5: The Art of Quick Feedback
In a fast-paced environment, we can’t always wait for an annual review. You’ll learn a framework for giving quick, “real-time” feedback that is clear, non-judgmental, and designed to keep projects moving forward smoothly.

Week 6: Values-Based Feedback
We conclude by mastering “Values-Based Feedback.” Learn how to offer appreciation and redirection that aligns with your team’s core values, creating a culture where people feel seen, valued, and motivated.

Handout and more

You’ll receive a weekly handout plus a Feelings-and-Needs wheel. The handout contains essential information from the sessions, NVC fundamentals, inspiring poems, work-sheets to deepen your understanding, and visual aids. The worksheet will support your learning between sessions. You can use ⁠the Feelings-and-Needs wheel as a visual reference to check in with yourself and immediately catch when you are in Jackal mode.

When and Where

Six consecutive Tuesdays from 3 November 2026, each time 19:00 – 21:15 UK time.

This is an online course. We will invite you to six online calls, using a platform called Zoom — instructions to follow. Zoom allows us to break out into ‘rooms’ for smaller group work.

Trainer

Gesine Schrader, international CNVC-certified trainer. Gesine has been supporting individuals and organizations with mediation and coaching for the past ten years. Find out more about the trainer.

Who is this course for?

This course is for you if you care about the quality of relationships in your workplace and want to increase collaboration. It’s held on Zoom over six weeks. In order to create a safe space for sharing, we will only be sharing recordings of the sessions with attendees on the course who aren’t able to make a particular evening i.e. there isn’t a ‘watch only’ option. 

Preparation (not required to participate)

• Read Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg or watch the videos of Marshall Rosenberg on our training preparation page.
• Watch our NVC in the workplace playlist on our YouTube channel.
• Read Shantigarbha’s book on empathy I’ll Meet You There: A Practical Guide to Empathy, Mindfulness and Communication

Further information

For more information on Nonviolent Communication, see our what is NVC? page, the Centre for Nonviolent Communication website, or you could contact us directly.