Myriam Verzat was born in France, where she first learned about Nonviolent Communication (NVC) through her father, who brought Marshall Rosenberg’s book, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, on a family holiday. At the time, Myriam and her three teenaged siblings were not at all impressed with the four mechanical steps of the NVC model their dad was trying to use. But after a first rebellious reaction to her dad’s sudden weird communication habits, she decided to read the book to find out if there was anything valuable in that approach. Within it, she found some powerful pieces of wisdom that she slowly started to incorporate into her life as a growing adult.

One of the most striking was the idea that behind every single action, word, or movement that we make, there is a beautiful need trying to be seen and acknowledged.

Slowly, her nuclear family embraced NVC as a form of communication and it became a powerful source of learning how to navigate conflict with the people that she cared the most about.

There was also a growing artist in her, who slowly took more and more space in her life. Myriam can’t remember when she began dancing and acting. Probably in the womb. And she never stopped. When she arrived in Montreal for her final internship in science communication (her first career), she became fascinated by the variety of improvisation techniques involving the body and tried as many as possible: dance improvisation, improv theatre, physical theatre, action theatre, contact improvisation, vocal improvisation, playback theatre, mime, clowning, dancing in nature. She developed her own artistic practice grounded in improvisation, connection, and play that you can discover here.

After years in the field of science communication and artistic projects, she reconnected with her early passion for NVC and discovered how critical interpersonal communication and quality of connection was for any kind of human project to thrive, from building a family to leading big organizational work. She wanted to make a real difference and support individuals and groups to accomplish their dreams and build a more compassionate and sustainable society.

She decided to train formally and take on the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC) certification journey in Montreal and later British Colombia. She became a Certified Trainer, more convinced than ever that combining NVC with embodied expression is exactly what she needed to offer to the world — the best of her gifts and passions.

And here she is now, living her dream of combining her three passions: nature connection, artistic expression, and Nonviolent Communication, through performances, facilitation, coaching work, and workshops for individuals and organizations.

At the moment, Myriam works primarily with organizations to support them in bringing more empathic leadership, navigating tensions more effectively, and embracing conflict as a source of growth and learning. Myriam also supports schools (primarily parents and teachers), individuals, and couples in a path of living NVC.

Myriam identifies as a creative facilitator — she likes to invite participants to discover and embody NVC principles through artistic expression such as drawing, acting, and dancing, while embracing each individual’s willingness, capacities, and learning edges.