Nonviolent Communication • Holiday Support
Navigating the Holidays:
5-Week Nonviolent Communication (NVC) Online Training
A training and practice circle to support you through the holidays, which bring joy — and can also bring friction, old family dynamics, and noise. Join a small group of peers for a five-week practice circle designed to help you navigate this season with intention.
Let’s do this season a little more thoughtfully.
- Keep your footing when holiday stress or difficult dynamics spike.
- Say what matters clearly, calmly, and in a way that is actually heard.
- Listen deeply to decode what is really being said beneath the surface
Registration Fee: $325
Program Details
When
Starts November 10
Tuesdays 3.30-5.30 pm PT
[Nov 10, Nov 17, (skip Nov 24),
Dec 1, Dec 8, Dec 15]
WHERE
Live Online on Zoom
INCLUDES
5 live sessions, complimentary 1:1 coaching session, take-home practice scripts & journals
FACIlitator
Sheila Menezes MS, CPCC, PCC
Registration closes November 9, 2026
The holiday asks a lot
of our relationships.
Old family patterns, grief, money worries, loneliness, dinner-table opinions, and, dare I say, politics? We can carry a lot into the room when we gather with others, and our nervous systems could use some support before and after the mental replays.
This communication training and practice series starts two weeks before Indigenous Peoples’ Day and continues for three weeks after, so you have support as you prepare, make sense of how it went, and plan to do it differently at the end-of-December gatherings.
This is an intro course, no need for any NVC background.
HOW EACH WEEK WORKS
Learn one tool per session.
Practice it immediately with peers.
❖ Live Online Session
90-minute session with a short teaching on a specific communication tool, guided practice in dyads, role-plays, and group debriefs.
❖ 1:1 Coaching Session
A complimentary coaching session for tailored support around your specific situations and conversations.
❖ Empathy Practice
Match with one or two other participants to meet between sessions for a practice call.
THE FIVE WEEKS
Before, during, and
after holidays.
WEEK 1 — Nov 10
Finding what matters
Hard-to-hear words like criticism, blame, and judgment point to something important beneath the surface. Learn to listen for the values and needs behind what people say, so you can respond to what matters rather than react to how it was said.
WEEK 2 — Nov 17
Observing without judging
Separate what happened from the story you tell about it. Practice describing a tense moment in plain, factual terms, so you can stay calm and clear in conversations that would usually pull you into an argument.
>> NO CLASS Nov 24
Practice in the wild!
No session this week. Take your first two tools into real holiday conversations and notice what changes. Jot down any moment you’d like to bring back to the group.
WEEK 3 — Dec 1
Self-empathy
The art of being fully present with whatever is alive inside you. Emotional intelligence begins when we stop running from our feelings. Learn to sit with and map your inner emotional landscape, anchor your feelings in your core values, and find stability right where you are.
WEEK 4 — Dec 8
Listen with empathy
Receive what someone else is feeling and needing without fixing, defending, or advising. Build on your self-connection anchor and practice being more available to someone else with care and curiosity, and without losing yourself.
WEEK 5 — Dec 15
Connection requests & interrupting
Turn your needs into clear, doable requests that invite connection instead of demands. Learn when and how to interrupt with care, so a conversation stuck in circles can reset and move toward understanding.
Practice, not just theory
A brave space to learn together.
Skills stick when you practice them soon and with someone else. We practice together in the group and match you with 1–2 others to practice empathy between sessions, in dyads or triads. A triad helps you take turns speaking, listening, and observing.
Each week
- Join the live session and put the communication tool into practice right away.
- Connect with your buddy or triad for 30–45 minutes of shared practice.
- Use your complimentary 1:1 coaching session.
- Try one small shift in your everyday conversations.
- Revisit the handouts and journal your reflections to deepen your learning.
your facilitator
Sheila Menezes, MS, CPCC, PCC
Founder of Compassionate Return. For over a decade, I’ve facilitated NVC in many settings — from C-level one-on-one coaching sessions and group coaching and trainings for teams to facilitating and directing a year-long weekly NVC program in prison. I love resourcing people and helping you build the relational capacity to connect with others. Amidst joy and peaceful reflection, the holidays can bring up tension, grief, loneliness, and especially challenging conversations. Most of us face it without much support. This five-week series gives you one practical tool each week and a small group to practice it with, so you aren’t doing it alone. We can build hope by doing it differently this year!
Save your spot
5 live sessions, plus a complimentary 1:1 coaching session.
Groups are kept small, so we keep the space personal.
Fee: $325
Registration closes on November 9, 2026.
If cost is a barrier, let’s connect and explore payment options or pricing that supports sustainability for both of us.