Testimonials from class participants
Testimonials:
“My child had this to say: ‘You are SUCH a better mom now than you were before you started the class. I can’t believe how much you have changed.’ And she’s right. In particular, I have noticed that my new skills in empathetic listening have opened up really strong channels of communication and trust building. This is incredibly valuable to me right now, as we are navigating some very difficult and scary waters related to teen mental health. Like my child, I am a work in progress, but by learning these tools, and practicing them in my own unique way, I have made a tremendous amount of progress in parenting in a way that reflects my deepest values and commitments.”
Kyce Bello, Santa Fe
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Our entire organization recently took part in Rachel’s Compassionate Communication workshops. The training gave us the tools and methods as well as practice to build confidence to be able to really improve our communications and understand each other much better. Understanding our needs and being willing and active to understand the needs of those whom we work and live with is such a powerful gift/process. Rachel connected so well with our staff which includes a broad age range and diversity. She was a pleasure to work with and we will not hesitate to engage with her again in the future.
Rob Spath – Chief Executive Officer, Conservation Legacy, 2021
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Your workshop, “Feedback without Criticism” that you held with us a few months ago is still resonating with the Management Staff who attended. I watch them slow their responses, think things through and express themselves in non-judgmental ways. Sometimes a tense encounter will occur but then later, the participants analyze their words in terms of what they learned in the workshop and how they might have handled the situation differently. We’ve all experienced a difference in our communications in our work environment after the workshop.
Joe Zwiebach
General Manger
Durango Natural Foods Co-op 2021
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I love working with Rachel Turiel because she helps me understand how to put myself in other peoples’ shoes, while at the same standing up for myself and getting my needs met. Throughout my life I have either allowed myself to be walked on, or I have become angry to the extreme. There is a middle path. I am learning how to find that path with Rachel. It’s not an easy process to break decades of habitual reactions and thinking, but I am committed and now believe it’s possible under her guidance.
Lizzy Scully, CEO Four Corners Guides 2021
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Rachel offers such depths of compassion, empathy and skill when she facilitates a class on NVC or in private sessions. Her commitment to acknowledging another through honest reflection is profound. I would want her as my friend, my teacher and certainly part of my community!
Mindy I. Seattle, WA 2020
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Matt T. Vermont, 2020
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Rachel’s Nonviolent Communication workshops have provided us with the language, tools, and practice to shift our mindsets and move our school community to a place of empowerment. We’ve come to realize that Nonviolent Communication is the connective tissue that holds together our trauma-informed philosophy, restorative practices, and social-emotional learning. Rachel has reached our staff, parents, care-givers, and students giving us all a common language, and the hope to make our school and home experiences move from a place of surviving to thriving. Our homes, schools, and communities should be places of healing and transforming and nonviolent communication is a path to just that! Rachel’s ability to connect with all ages and with people from diverse backgrounds and values makes her work powerful and change making.
Elizabeth Barszcz
Principal
Silverton Public School
2020
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In case you needed any encouragement to keep these classes going weekly, I would continue to meet indefinitely if that was ever an option. These two sessions have helped immensely! Thank you thank you. You are like the Noam Chomsky of nonviolent communication parenting- you make difficult and abstract concepts easy to understand and implement!
Laura Lindley-Gutierrez
April, 2020
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“In Rachel’s workshop, Say What You Mean, I learned how to communicate to another person while taking into consideration the other person’s point of view. I also learned how to listen without giving feedback at that time or focusing on what I am going to say next without trying to alter the other persons opinion.” Dewa I. Age 12, 2019
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I love working with Rachel. Her tools are so easy to work with an I have improved communication with myself and other relationships. I really appreciate her!
Shanise, Manna Culinary Program; Fall 2019
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Anna Lederer
We can’t wait to do this again. Who knew that basic listening is the tool to more compassionate communication? Who knew that our basic needs are the birth place of our voice? Who knew that considering a different perspective could change the dialogues we have every day? Who knew? The principles of non-violent communication are powerful tools that we all can use in both our personal and professional communications. Rachel presents the elements of this concept in a very engaging, intriguing and compelling format. She creates a secure forum for honest expression of feelings and judgements. The tools of this approach can potentially be the key to how we begin a new narrative. Thank you, Rachel, for your passion and persona.
Ann Morse, Executive Director Manna Soup Kitchen and The Manna Staff, 2019
We are so grateful Rachel presented her “Listening to Connect” workshop to our Sen Gen (Senior Generation) group at the dharma center recently. As we age, it’s even more important to communicate this sometime-challenging time in a compassionate and caring way. Rachel clarified how our feelings and emotions can be based in foundational human needs. Through real stories and participation, we worked through several scenarios that really hit home. It’s never too late for self-discovery! Thank you Rachel, for sharing your joyful wisdom with our community of elders.
Martha McClellan, Sen Gen Facilitator @ Durango Dharma Center, 2019
- Rachel’s workshop was practical, giving us tools to help us achieve better communication with others. She met us where we each were in the process. She affirmed the challenges we each expressed and honored our needs to be passionate about what we believe. Rachel definitely modeled what she was teaching; she walks the talk with skill and patience. I was so pleased at the turnout, the interaction, and what seemed to me to be the need for this type of skillset to put to use now and in every part of life. – Indivisible Durango Committee Faciliators, 2019
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The Yogadurango staff wanted to offer a gift to our employee team that was relevant and useful to enrich all parts of life. Rachel shared her rich experience of Non-Violent Communication and it was delivered in such an authentic, compassionate and loving way. She connected deeply with each of us in a short time and shared with us tools that we could immediately use in our lives. Within an hour of completing the workshop one of our employees communicated with us that this workshop was the most valuable employee meeting that they had ever attended. The NVC workshop was nourishing on so many levels and left us all hungry for more.
I would like to add my voice to the chorus of “thank you’s” – To you, Rachel, for the passion, skill, and encouragement you provide as our facilitator. To you excellent classmates. I miss you and our Thursday focus on the process.Susan Merrill, Durango, CO, 2018
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I had no idea the depth and profound change that NVC would bring. Rachel is a skilled and open-hearted teacher; and I would recommend this class for all people.
Rachel’s Nonviolent Communication class has transformed the way I listen to others. I am more focused on discovering the underlying needs people have, even if they are communicated in a harsh or hurtful way. I dig deeper and get to what makes us all human, thus showing compassion and empathy. I am also learning how to communicate my own needs more clearly, and make reasonable requests, based on those needs.” -Megan Kinney, Durango, CO, 2018
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I have heard people say that learning nonviolent communication (NVC) techniques can be life altering and I wondered if I would experience that type of impact. Now that I have taken two of Rachel Turiel’s workshops and the full 5-week series on NVC, I can emphatically state that yes, it is life altering on many levels. First and foremost, one learns to think in terms of needs and feelings that can be identified in the course of everyday communications. Once you learn and embrace the model, you will likely wince inwardly every time you fall back into old habits which is a great motivator to keep practicing.
Rachel’s experiential teaching style is very effective to educate and then practice NVC principles within a group setting. Her use of personal stories to illustrate how she has used the framework, group and individual readings, small group discussions and highly relevant practice homework assignments are all great strategies to learn how to immediately start using NVC in all your communications.
Lauren Patterson, Durango, CO, 2018
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Your NVC class was very helpful and informative. It is one thing to just read the book, but so much more worthwhile to put it into action using role play and real life conflicts. I feel I learned about my strengths and weaknesses as a listener and a communicator. I have been able to take these new found NVC skills and apply them to my relationship and to my friendships creating closer meaningful connections. Thank you Rachel.
Katie Marechal, Durango, CO, 2017
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I have been interested in learning more about NVC for quite some time and was fortunate enough to find an insightful and extremely skilled teacher, Rachel Turiel. She is clear and compassionate in her teaching and is passionate about sharing the skills of NVC. I have already seen a shift in how I communicate and relate to others, improving both personal and work relationships. I highly recommend taking a class from Rachel if you are lucky enough to be in her area!
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