Testimonials

The 18-week Mediate Your Life course has come to an end, and my heart is full of insights and gratitude.

When I attended the IIT last year, I deeply admired the empathy skills of the NVC trainers. Watching them heal speakers through empathic dialogue felt almost magical and incredible—I silently wished that one day I could be like them. But was that just an unattainable dream?

To my surprise, it was as if Teacher Lisa heard my wish and organized this course. Through John’s Three Chairs model, we were given a clear structure to navigate our inner chaos and outer conflicts—whether with ourselves or others. I love the clarity of this framework; it’s like a map that guides me through self-connection, self-empathy, and empathy for others. It gives me a concrete path to follow as a helper and mediator, helping me move forward with confidence on the path to becoming a trainer.

Beyond the structure, I really appreciate how John continuously demonstrated everything he taught. His focus, presence, and attunement came so naturally and effortlessly. Gradually, through repeated exposure, I found myself becoming more present and attuned—feeling others’ emotions and experiencing true connection.

I also really enjoy the MYL App meditations for self-connection that John shared. As a Buddhist, I believe in the Buddha nature in all beings, in equality among all life, and that the “self” is made up of “non-self” elements. Yet, in the real world, I still sometimes cling to the idea of "me." John's guided meditations often remind us to expand the self, to open into the vast universe, to feel the oneness between ourselves and others. This helped me realize that we are like different waves—each with our own rhythm, yet all made of the same water.

I appreciate the pacing of John’s teaching, the powerful demonstrations with participants, and the way we applied what we learned immediately in small group practices. I also enjoyed hearing John’s sincere responses to students’ questions.

Another highlight was the translation setup in this course. Two interpreters worked together to make the class flow smoothly. One provided real-time translation into John’s personal earpiece, allowing him to respond to our Chinese questions almost instantly. The other translated John’s English back into Chinese for us. It was an excellent online translation system that created an accessible learning environment—especially for someone like me whose English listening skills aren’t strong.

Because I loved this course so much, I committed fully to the practices. I built deep connections, and saw my own growth through the practice.

Right now, my heart is full of joy. This course fulfilled my needs for learning, growth, clarity, appreciation, gratitude, friendship, and connection. I wanted to write it all down and celebrate it.

Thank you so much, John.

John Kinyon provided grounded and thoughtful training and facilitation of our leadership team through Nonviolent Communication principles. The team appreciated the opportunity to have space outside of normal operations to connect and work through sometimes challenging topics and conversations.

– Melissa Marshall, MD, CEO, CommuniCare Health Centers

Since our Leadership Team completed training/work with John Kinyon, I’ve seen several managers evolve to taking slower, more thoughtful approaches in challenging conversations - while discussing topics that could ignite fire. They’re better able to hear each other, to reflect and consider others’ needs, and to respond in ways they’re more likely to be heard.

– Bonnie Shea, PHR, Chief HR Officer, CommuniCare Health Centers

We invited John to join our corporate retreat as a means to develop better communications with our team, specifically in regards to having difficult conversations with colleagues. I’m happy to say that since the retreat, we are continuing to use the skills and 3-chairs process, as they are proving to be invaluable for us in heading off unproductive conflict early on and communicating better as a team. We are more willing and even seek to engage in tough conversations rather than push them off or avoid them. The tools create a safe space to share opinions, thoughts, and frustrations without feeling like there will be the negative judgments or disconnection that can typically result from difficult discussions. On average, I would say folks are practicing the tools twice a week with each other and regularly for self-management. We have been incorporating the skills seamlessly into our communications as they have been so productive for us. Hats off to you, John. This has really helped us become more empathetic and engage in conversations with a much more productive mindset and manner!!!

— Peter Battisti, COO of Flip Labs

In this video, past and current participants share how MYL trainings have impacted their life.

I've studied NVC for years, and have found it to be a transformative force in my personal and professional life. John Kinyon's approach is particularly useful because it focuses on managing attention and moving conversations towards understanding and clarity in powerful ways. A company is a complex machine made of many people, and compassionate communication keeps the gears from grinding to a halt at npm, Inc. We are happier and more productive when we can trust one another and communicate clearly.

— Isaac Schlueter, npm, Inc. Co-Founder and CEO

John, your method helps people see that conflict is not a negative to be avoided, but is actually the basis of productive relationships. Through your training, you give people concrete tools and practices to turn conflicts into actionable resolutions. Ultimately, through working with you people are to recognize the fundamental fabric of teams and organizations, which is that all of us are connected through universal needs. It is through hearing, seeing, and acknowledging our own needs and the needs of others that the strongest relationships are built.

— Andrew Blum, CEO and Managing Partner, The Trium Group

Working with John on improving our team’s approach to conflict is one of the best decisions I’ve made as a leader since founding the company five years ago. John’s method gave us a simple, shared vocabulary and a process we could trust, even when we’ve been scared to dive into difficult conversations. I can see the difference in how we relate to each other and how we perform more effectively. Now that we have a way to clear those issues before they deepen and calcify, we are much more productive. I feel confident in saying that if Flip Labs fulfills its vision to grow and make real change in the world by solving social and environmental problems, our work with John will be a key reason we were able to do so.

— Cheryl Dahle, Founder of Flip Labs

John introduced the 3-chairs concept for difficult conversations to our team for 3 hours during a 2-day offsite. The general consensus of the team was that John had established a process and a mindset that enabled the team to experience a breakthrough. One of my peers said the workshop had been perfect and that we as a team had never made so much progress during this type of meeting before. We ended the offsite feeling that everything we had wanted to accomplish was accomplished. One of the things I enjoyed most was my manager's summation of his experience with John: 'The guy is incredibly centered! When he first started talking my reaction was, What the hell is he talking about? And then an hour later I was like, Oh my god, he has changed my life!'

— Paul Johnson, Sr. Marketing Excellence Manager, Microsoft USA

Effective leading happens in conversations held throughout the day. These conversations happen everywhere in the organization, from the boardroom to the break room. Nothing has enhanced my leadership effectiveness like John's training. I have integrated it into high stakes conversations such as contract negotiations, performance feedback, team decision-making, conflict resolution, group facilitation and project debriefs. I highly recommend this training for leaders and teams who want to tap their collective potential for creating brilliant ways to sustain their organization and fulfill their mission, while fostering deeply satisfying relationships with every conversation held along the way.

— Christine Flaherty, Healthcare Executive

I see John's work in organizations being extremely powerful. Whether it is helping my Client Success team show empathy with clients in difficult conversations, training my sales team to show understanding on challenging sales calls, or helping our entire team have more effective and creative connection with each other, this work is essential in so many ways. I have also used these skills in my personal life with my wife and others with incredibly helpful and powerful results. These are cutting edge communication skills that I believe will be standard practice for top performing teams and organizations in a few years.

— Justin Nassiri, StoryBox founder and CEO

John created a context for us to have a level of authentic conversation with each other that has strengthened and deepened our experience of teamwork and collaboration. John's ability to understand our individual strengths and weaknesses was a crucial part of creating a set of tools and methods that work for us in our own unique way.

— Jon Gifford, Co-Founder of Loggly, Inc.

— Cheryl Dahle, Founder of Flip Labs

- Meet Founder -

John Kinyon

John is an internationally renowned and respected leader and teacher of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) for over 25 years. He studied closely with NVC creator Marshall Rosenberg for over a decade and was one of his most trusted students. John has trained, coached, and mediated with thousands of people around the world. In the last decade, he has focused more deeply on integrating mindfulness (dual and nondual) and trauma healing into his work.

Conflict is growing and intensifying in the world, from global to personal and organizational. John's Mediate Your Life approach gives a way to use the power of conflict to evolve into new possibilities and greater wellbeing.

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