Curious Shift

Curious Shift

mine – your – our
c o m m u n i c a t i o n 

A three-day experiential, hands-on workshop with Rivca Rubin and Charles Lauder focusing on theory, practice and most importantly the quality of communication. With rigour and humor. The goal of the workshop is to equip you for a variety of situations, even difficult ones, and how to communicate with yourself and people in your professional and personal life.

For anyone who teaches-supports-engages with people.

With special focus on professionals from the cultural field: creators, lecturers, teachers-educators, performers, managers, producers, administrative and PR professionals.

Both in professional and personal lives we engage in various situations. We communicate with ourselves, with each other and others – peers, colleagues, co-creators, collaborators, performers, participants, promoters, critics, audiences, the general public, students or pupils, funding bodies… We communicate in the contexts of the changing roles and positions we find ourselves in, both within the organisations we work with and/or for as well as towards the public.

How about we stop talking about communication as a skill. We are communicating all the time. It is the quality of our communicating, in all contexts that facilitates the ability to find mutually agreeable strategies, approaches, decisions, solutions, outcomes.

We can build a reservoir of resources, enrich our menu of options and expand our practices for living with ourselves, with each other, and with our environment. Practice versatility in how to respond to changes in the world. To become part of its reshaping, individually and collectively.

These three days will be exploratory, enjoyable and sometimes challenging.

Foci:

• Creating our Climate
  How to co-create, co-agree and maintain creative, healthy working, living and learning environments. Creating clear agreements without stress, the tyranny of coercion, unspoken assumptions and unmet expectations.

• The quality of communication within creative processes and working environments
  How to create conditions for motivating and satisfying engagements. How to actively practice respect, build trust and share responsibility. How to communicate without hierarchy and superiority, avoiding slipping into becoming saviour, advice giver, preacher or saviour. Critique without criticism.

• Upwording
  The way we think or behave is reflected in the language we choose, and vice versa. The choice of language affects how we think and behave. Words create worlds and words change worlds.
  From hindering, harmful, demotivating to liberating, helpful, motivating communication when thinking and speaking with and about ourselves and each other.

• Crucial Critical Conversations
  Facing different, even conflicting opinions, beliefs, preferences, requirements and/or needs.
  How to prepare, enter and engage in challenging conversations and topics with colleagues, students, peers, partners, children… Required types of listening. Consensus instead of compromise.

• Idea Generation & Solution Finding
  Approaches to assisting others, oneself and groups to facilitate rigorous processes of creation of desirable outcomes, divergent thinking and ideation. How to reach doable and agreeable solutions, strategies and steps imbued with motivation and  enthusiasm.

• Co-creating a shift in governance systems within our own family, partnership and organisational spheres.

The project is implemented with the financial support of the European Union through the NPO programme.

Workshop price (3 full days): 120 Eur; student, senior: 85€
Venue: Prostor 39, Řekořova 39, Prague 3
Capacity of participants is limited!
Registration
questions: romana.p@ostruzina.eu

The workshop will be in English with translation into Czech/Slovak.

Cancelation and refund:
– up to 3 weeks before the event (until 27 April): 50% of fee will be refunded
– less than 3 weeks before the event (from 28.4.): no refund will be possibble; if you cannot attend, please find a replacement for yourself.

Rivca Rubin
is a behavioural scientist specialising in the psychology and sociology of linguistics. She works with artists and organisations providing individual, team and organisational development. Rivca’s guiding principle is to increase care for each other and ourselves.
Rivca works with organisations to define their vision, and the desired impact and co-create a working climate based on shared values. Assisting artists in exploring their aims and desired impacts, locating essence and refining their practice, leading courses, moderating workshops and discussions, mediating conflicts, coaching and mentoring leaders and artists, Rivca is most active in the cultural and educational sectors in Europe and works with NGOs and activists around the world.
The founder of *Upwording, a practice of evolutionising thinking through our everyday use of language Rivca presents Upwording at international conferences, congresses, festivals, and to networks. The practice suggests small shifts through an active, considered and conscious choice of language, that can lift our thinking quickly, facilitating a collective re-imagining of what else could be possible to action towards more satisfied, invigorated and sustainable interactions; relationships; family lives; workplaces; societies; cultures; a desirable global world for all. A culture based on ‘Power With rather than Power Over’.

Charles Lauder
is an experienced organisational development consultant, coach and facilitator with a unique mix of skills and particular expertise in diversity and inclusion, organisational change, and communication skills.
Previously he was joint managing director of his own company, Talawa Consulting, and worked extensively with NHS Trusts, local authorities, and arts sector organisations in the UK and Europe. Blending group and individual work (including coaching) he has helped senior management teams to think differently and lead and manage change, often within challenging circumstances – such as constrained finances or mergers and restructures.
Charles is also a film, television, and theatre director.