Co-creating Peace Episode #123 – "Choose Your Words”

Our greatest power tool for building relationships, and our most devastating weapon for destroying them is our use of words. It’s not only the words themselves, but how and when they are delivered that can make the difference between the construction and the destruction of positive connection and harmony.

In Episode #122, I spoke with Terre Short, author of “The Words We Choose” Your Guide to How and Why Words Matter. To continue the theme of speaking mindfully, I am joined today by Melanie Sears, a retired nurse who has been a student, practitioner, and teacher of Non-violent Communication for over 30 years, who will share wisdom about choosing our words from the perspective of Nonviolent Communication (NVC).

Enjoy “Choose Your Words”, Episode #123 of Co-creating Peace, a podcast series about conscious communication and conflict transformation. 

Highlights you won’t want to miss include:

• Nonviolent communication and understanding feelings
• The relationship between our feelings and our needs
• Who is responsible for the feelings people experience
• Speaking without judgement
• The value of giving yourself empathy

Melanie Sears has been a student of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) for more than thirty years. She has written three books based on NVC principles. Humanizing Health Care, followed by a workbook, Choose Your Words in two versions: one geared toward professionals who work in health care and the other one geared to caregivers and family members caring for someone with a psychiatric disorder. Humanizing Health Care is translated into German, Korean, Japanese and Chinese. 

Choose Your Words was written as a companion workbook for Humanizing Health Care, it is also a wonderful stand-alone workbook that anyone can learn and benefit from. I want to share it with you before Humanizing Health Care because it is a great follow-up to Episode #122 in providing tools for mindful, conscious communication. Next time, in Episode #124, Melanie & I will talk about Humanizing Health Care.

Melanie works with couples and individuals as a coach and empath. Contact Melanie at: [e-mail]. You can learn more about Melanie and her work at: https://dnadialogues.com. Find her books at: https://www.nonviolentcommunication.com/shop/ or on

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Visit BridgesofPeace.com to learn more about Kathleen and her work.