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Description

Nonviolent Communication: Observe, Express Your Needs and Make Requests

Two days to replace blame with clear observations, stated needs and concrete requests

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

In a team under pressure, conversations quickly fill with blame: you never tell me anything, we can't rely on you. Everyone defends themselves, no one gets what they were looking for, and the underlying issue remains untouched until the next flashpoint.

This 14-hour programme is based on the nonviolent communication approach and its four-step progression: observe without evaluating, express what you feel, identify the need at stake and formulate a concrete request. Both days are devoted to reworking real messages brought in by participants.

Learning objectives

  • Distinguish a factual observation from a disguised evaluation
  • Express a feeling without holding the other person responsible for it
  • Identify the need hidden behind a reproach
  • Formulate a concrete and negotiable request
  • Listen to a hostile message while looking for the need it expresses

What makes this programme different

Real workplace messages reworked step by step by the people who wrote them
Practice in listening to criticism directed at you
Reference lists of feelings and needs used throughout every exercise

Programme

1Observing Without Judging

The first step of the approach

  • Spotting evaluations slipped into a description
  • Rewriting a judgement as an observation with time and place
  • Effect of the words always and never on an exchange
  • Checking an observation with the other person

2Expressing What You Feel

Speaking about yourself rather than the other person

  • Distinguishing a feeling from an interpretation
  • Vocabulary of feelings beyond the most common words
  • Speaking in the first person
  • Calibrating expression to the professional context

3Identifying the Need

What the reproach conceals

  • Spotting the needs behind recurring complaints
  • Distinguishing the need from the expected solution
  • Looking for the other person's need in a disagreement
  • Effect of an unstated need on the relationship

4Formulating a Request

Concrete and negotiable

  • Moving from the need to a precise request
  • Difference between a request and a demand
  • Receiving a refusal without breaking off the exchange
  • Handling a hostile message without counter-attacking

Who is it for

Anyone working within a team, as well as managers and professionals exposed to tense exchanges.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.