Interest check: verbal/conflict skills dojo for women in East London zone 2

3Jane·Feb 28, 2020

Hi London Elphas,I'm looking to start a small (less than 10 members) group of women, practicing the following skills:- assertiveness- negotiation- nonviolent communication - difficult conversations - detecting and defusing manipulation-- Why a women's training group?In "A Woman in Your Own Right", Anne Dickson recommends role-playing exercises with a partner as the best way to learn verbal assertiveness. She used to organise long-running practice groups for women, but unfortunately these kinds of groups don't seem to exist anymore, and one-day "workshops" (which don't provide enough training) are run as money-makers! It's not easy to practice with a friend either, as most people don't feel comfortable acting as if they were in conflict.If you'd ever found yourself exiting a meeting thinking "I wish I'd told him that...", or angry about another responsibility you've been guilt-tripped into, or if you've wished there was a safe setting to practice salary negotiation before the big moment - join me in the training group!-- Organisational detailsGeneral location: East London zone 2-3, in general Bow-Hackney Wick-Stratford areaTime commitment: ~1.5h weekly for practice together, readingMust have: enough time to show up regularly, and a willingness to go outside your comfort zone, challenge yourself and others (just as with gym, nobody can "make you" become stronger.)- Jane

Annayoungs·Feb 28, 2020

This sounds VERY interesting. I'm sure the womxn of Triangirls (http://triangirls.com/) would be super interested in this as well.If you want to practice some content, or do a shout out about the training sessions let me know!

3Jane·Mar 02, 2020

Hey Anna, Triangirls is inspirational! Love your choice of subjects ;)If you know anyone who would be interested, please let them know! I'm not a coach - rather looking for people who want to "go far, go together" - so I don't have prepared content. However, I'm always happy to talk, share recommendations, and strategise!

rumbimak·Mar 02, 2020

I'd be interested Jane! I'd only request that the sessions were at the weekend so that I could consistently turn up and also so that I could arrive in the correct mindspace each week. I'm a fan of the idea

3Jane·Mar 02, 2020

Awesome!Yep, I'm also partial towards weekends. It's hard to do challenging work immediately after spending an intense day at work.

xtine08·Mar 02, 2020

I'd love to find out more!

3Jane·Mar 02, 2020

Imagine a book club, crossed with a group of gym buddies / sparring partners, crossed with a mastermind group.I have a list of well-known and highly recommended books, 1-2 per skill (all of which I've read and found useful.) These provide exercises to practice. We'll have a couple of sessions for each section before moving on - the idea is to build up skills rather than rush through it. I will be participating in exercises with everyone.What's next on my todo list:- give it a couple more days for people to see the posts- set up a private group chat for coordination purposes- sort out a location (depends on how many people are interested)- set up the first meetingDuring the first meeting we'll do a get-to-know-you, figure out which areas we want to cover, and settle on the first book to practice.

ClareBD·Mar 11, 2020

Hi Jane,This sounds like a great idea, I would be up for this.Although in all honesty I probably wouldn't do this on a weekend. Just my thoughts!Many thanks,Clare

AbigailWoopWoop·Mar 12, 2020

What a wonderful initiative! I would definitely jove to join it!