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Needs-Based Communication
(NVC)

Info & Resources

What is "Needs-Based Communication" or NVC?

what_is__needs-based_communication__or_nvc__v1.2.pdf
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Needs-Based Communication (NVC) is a potent process that can support us when we are having — or need to have — challenging conversations that matter to us ...

  • ... like giving authentic feedback to a co-worker ... 

  • ​... or listening to someone at work or at home when we disagree with what they are saying ...

  • ... or how we respond when we perceive ourselves as being "attacked" in a conversation ... 

  • ... or expressing clearly our personal or professional boundaries when a colleague has stepped beyond them ...

  • ... or what we do when we feel anger rising in ourselves and we know we will likely regret the words we are about to say ...

  • ... or when we've just expressed something in a meeting that really matters to us, but no one seems to have heard it ...

  • ... or when we're too scared to speak up at all.​
NVC guides us to move beyond blame. 
  • To recognize our own reactivity.
  • To understand our reactivity in terms of what matters to us.
  • To see another person's reactivity in terms of what matters to them.
  • In this new way of perceiving the situation, to respond consciously in a way that is likely to create mutual understanding.​
  • In that understanding, to make choices and take actions that are more likely to advance all of us toward what matters to each of us and to the larger "We" that holds us.
Here are some of the skills and benefits of using Needs-Based Communication (NVC) in the workplace ... or at home:
  • listening — so that the other person has an experience of being heard, even if we don't agree with what they are saying
  • empathy — the basis of care and compassion -- recognizing the weird ways that we unconsciously ask for empathy
  • expressing disagreement without blame -- an integral skill of conscious feedback and mutual accountability
  • recognizing our own unconscious reactions and limiting beliefs —​ these are what diminish our relationships and effectiveness, especially as leaders
  • seeing conflict as something to be harvested, not avoided — learn to "lean into" conflict instead of away from it, learn to hear the underlying essence of what matters to the people involved


​Needs-Based Communication invites us to expand our perception so that we see ways to bring connection amidst conflict. At the core of this expanded perception is the skill to focus our attention on the underlying human needs that are seeking to be nurtured in any moment, both within ourselves and within the people around us.

These underlying human needs are the motivation for our actions and our words ... the "why" behind what we do or say. Because human needs are universal — they are common to all human beings — when we bring them into explicit focus, they tend to stimulate understanding and draw us closer together.

The potency of NVC is in its pragmatic simplicity. In any moment, including a moment of conflict, there are two ways to enhance connection & understanding:
  1. authentically express our own feelings & needs, or
  2. empathically listen to the feelings & needs of the other.

These are radically different choices than we are accustomed to experience when we are in conflict: namely, fight, freeze or flee. 

While simple, NVC is often challenging to embody because we are so deeply conditioned to perceive each other through judgments and blame.


With practice, the process of NVC helps us navigate within ourselves to transform unconscious reactions into conscious responses.

What NVC is not ...

  • NVC is not about being nice; it's about being real.
  • It's not about stifling intensity, but transforming it.
  • NVC is not about changing other people or getting them to do what we want. It's about changing ourselves, so that we inspire the quality of communication and relationship that we want.
  • NVC is not a technique or formula. It's a process that helps guide our consciousness to a new awareness around human needs.

*Needs-Based Communication is based on the work of Marshall Rosenberg, which he called "Nonviolent Communication™" or NVC.

I have chosen to call the process Needs-Based Communication for two reasons:

First, human needs are the heart of the process.

Secondly, I have wanted to avoid the common initial reaction from people in business that "... we're not a violent place." 

I have chosen to keep the "NVC" abbreviation for Needs-Based Communication because many people are familiar with NVC as a process 
— and it lacks the "nonviolent" connotation.
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Workbook: "An Introduction to NVC"

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nvc0_workbook_v2.3.pdf
File Size: 357 kb
File Type: pdf
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This 22-page workbook includes the core pages from Basileia's workshop materials for the "Introduction to Needs-Based Communication (NVC)" workshop. We typically teach this workshop in a 1- to 2-day format for people who are new to NVC.

We offer these materials with a limited right to download and print/reproduce for personal learning or group workshops provided that (a) you contact us to let us know of your intention to use the materials, (b) the materials are used as-is keeping the copyright information on each page, (c) the PDF file itself is shared only by providing a link to this web page, and (d) the materials are not sold.

If you are using these materials in a workshop for which you are being paid, we request a donation to Basileia in whatever amount you would enjoy giving.


Quick Reference Sheet

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Key Concepts - "Introduction to Needs-Based Communication (NVC)"

This is a one-page (front & back) quick reference sheet to basic key concepts of NVC. It's designed to be folded and put in your pocket.
updated_key_concepts_-_intro_to_nvc_v1.2.pdf
File Size: 128 kb
File Type: pdf
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One-Page NVC Lists

The following sample lists of human body sensations, feelings and needs are provided to support your proficiency in learning human-needs communication (NVC) by helping to build your vocabulary. 

​Click on the image to save or print.
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NVC Books

Click on book covers to see details or to purchase on amazon.com
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Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, 3rd Edition, by Marshall Rosenberg

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Your Resonant Self, By Sarah Peyton

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Nonviolent Communication Companion Workbook: A Practical Guide for Individual, Group or Classroom Study, 2nd Edition, by Lucy Leu

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Speak Peace in a World of Conflict: What You Say Next Will Change Your World, by Marshall Rosenberg

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  • Home
  • Services
    • FACILITATION
    • CONSULTING
    • TRAINING >
      • Training Subscription Plan
      • CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP >
        • Introduction to Conscious Leadership >
          • Conscious Leadership — What it is & Why it Matters
          • Create a Culture Where People Matter
          • Moving Beyond Rewards and Punishment
          • How am I Showing Up as a Leader?
          • Measuring Conscious Leadership and Organizational Culture
        • Hear Me ... See Me
        • Conscious Accountability
        • Conscious Conversations
        • Building Conscious Teams
        • Special Topics >
          • Enhancing Somatic Awareness
      • CONSCIOUS ORGANIZATIONS
      • NEEDS-BASED COMMUNICATION (NVC) >
        • Introduction to NVC - Needs-Based Communication
        • NVC Core Concepts
      • SOCIOCRATIC CIRCLE METHOD (SCM) >
        • Introduction to SCM - Sociocratic Circle Method
        • Leading an SCM Circle: Training for Facilitators, Functional Leaders & Logkeepers
    • COACHING
    • ASSESSMENTS >
      • CVA - Cultural Values Assessment
      • LVA - Leadership Values Assessment
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • About Gregg
    • Our Team
    • Why the name "Basileia"?
  • Resources
    • NVC Resources - Books, Info
    • SCM Resources - Books, Info
    • NVC in Charlottesville
  • Contact