Activities to promote nonviolent communication skills in students

I have used the following activities and strategies to promote nonviolent communication skills in my students. You may customize the activities to align with your classroom’s specific needs.

Feelings and needs cards: Provide students with cards that have different emotions and needs written on them. Have them pick a card and share a personal experience related to that emotion and need, encouraging them to express themselves and connect with their feelings and needs.

E.g.: Happiness (need for connection, autonomy); sadness (need for comfort, support); anger (need for fairness, justice).

Empathy circles: Organize empathy circles where students take turns sharing their thoughts and feelings about a particular topic while the others practice active listening without interrupting or offering solutions. This helps students develop their empathetic listening skills.

E.g.: Life goals, personal experiences, inclusive communities, social justice, cultural awareness, sustainability.

Reflective writing: Assign reflective writing exercises where students write about a conflict or challenging situation they’ve experienced and how they could have applied nonviolent communication techniques to handle it more effectively.

E.g.:

• What were my initial expectations and how did they compare to the actual outcome?
• Analyze the obstacles you faced and the strategies you used to address them.
• Explore any shifts in your values, beliefs, or worldview that resulted from the experience.
• What would I do differently if I could go back in time?

Media analysis: Analyze and discuss media clips or articles that depict both nonviolent and violent communication. This can help students identify examples and discuss the outcomes and impacts of each.

E.g.: Investigate the impact of violent and nonviolent communication in online communication and social media interactions, particularly in escalating issues or reducing online harassment and fostering constructive discussions.

Peer counselling programs: Establish peer counselling programs within the school, where students are trained to provide support and guidance to their peers in a non-judgemental, empathetic, and nonviolent manner.

E.g.: Bullying and cyber-bullying, physical and mental wellbeing, study techniques, and relaxation methods.

Community service projects: Encourage students to participate in community service projects that require cooperation, collaboration, communication, and empathy. Working together on these projects can help them apply nonviolent communication skills in real-world situations.

E.g.: Environmental conservation, elderly care, food drive, animal welfare, handicrafts fair.

Group discussions, nonviolent communication exercises, such as worksheets, activities, and games, designed specifically to reinforce NVC principles, may also be used. Mindfulness practices and self-regulation techniques are also good ways to enhance emotional intelligence and self-awareness in our students.

Role-play: Have them role-play relevant scenarios using nonviolent communication rules, such as active listening, expressing feelings and needs, and making requests.

Given below are the details of an activity that I have tried in my classroom to enable students to practice and apply nonviolent communication principles in realistic scenarios and enhance their empathy and communication skills. You may tweak it to suit your classroom needs.

Prepare several NVC role-play scenarios, each involving a common conflict or situation that might arise in the lives of teenagers. Create such scenarios where students can practice nonviolent communication techniques. For example, misunderstandings between friends, disagreements with parents, or conflicts at school. These scenarios should be written on separate index cards or slips of paper.

Each student should receive one NVC scenario. Instruct the students to pair up and decide who will be ‘Person A’ and who ‘Person B’ in their respective role-play scenarios. Students begin the role-play, where ‘Person A’ initiates the conversation based on the scenario they received, while ‘Person B’ listens and responds. Encourage them to use NVC ethics in their communication. Remind students to pay attention to observation, feelings, needs, and requests in their dialogues.

After each five-minute role-play, have the students rotate partners so that they get the opportunity to experience different scenarios and practice from both perspectives (Person A and Person B).

Between rotations, one should conduct debriefings with the entire class to discuss what went well, the challenges faced, and any insights gained during the role-plays.

Have students reflect on the experience individually or in small groups. Ask them to consider how NVC standards affected the dynamics of the role-plays and whether they noticed improvements in communication. Conclude the activity with a whole-class discussion. Encourage students to share their reflections, challenges, and any ‘aha!’ moments they might have had during the exercise. You may assign homework where students write a short reflection on how they plan to apply NVC ideals in their real-life interactions and conflicts.

Alternatively, you may organize a mediation simulation where students take on the roles of mediators and parties in a conflict. This can help them understand the mediation process and practice active listening and negotiation skills.

This role-play activity allows students to practice NVC in a safe and controlled environment, making it easier for them to internalize and employ these communication skills in their daily lives.

Teaching nonviolent communication is an ongoing process. It is important to create a supportive learning environment where students can practice and apply these skills, leading to better learning outcomes in our closely-knit classrooms. By embodying the principles of nonviolent communication, students will understand that hurdles are but opportunities for growth, resulting in constructive learning experiences. Teachers will be able to effectively manage challenging behaviour in the classroom with a positive touch, cultivating empathetic connections and spreading that compassion from school to the home and beyond.