KLVF Member Community Agreements

KLVF Community Agreements

These agreements uphold the Kristin Linklater Voice Foundation (KLVF) stated values of Community, Integrity, and Respect.

As members of KLVF, we understand that we are part of a global community and will strive to understand and respect our cultural similarities as well as our differences. KLVF members will respect the inherent value and dignity of the bodies and the lived experience of students, fellow members, and colleagues. When teaching Linklater Voice™ members commit to best practices that foster a respectful and nurturing learning environment that values transparency and consent. Members will honor the history and lineage of Linklater Voice™, while rooting it in the present moment, and evolving the work to meet the needs of the future.

COMMUNITY

  • Members will foster an environment that is conducive to their student’s/client’s optimal growth.

  • Members will create a courageous space in which people are encouraged to discover that their desire to communicate is greater than the thing that inhibits them.

  • Members will build a brave environment that allows members and students to navigate discomfort with awareness, embrace curiosity, and exercise agency in order to find greater ease and a fuller range of expression.

  • Members can state, if and when something impacts someone negatively, how they would like the issue to be addressed. When someone learns/realizes that they may have had an unintended negative impact, they must find a pathway to apologize, identify how they will shift their behavior, and offer repair.

  • Members speak from their own experience using “I” statements and uplift other voices by not speaking for others or presuming to know another person’s experiences.

  • Members embrace that everyone’s participation enriches the conversation. Therefore, we ask ourselves, “Why am I talking?” and seek balance. Conversely, we also ask “Why am I not talking?” We consider our desire to withdraw and work to lean into the discomfort.

RESPECT

  • Members commit to creating and maintaining a respectful environment within and beyond the classroom. This includes a respect for Linklater Voice™, itself, but also the teachers, students, and supporters of the work.

  • Members will respect other voice methodologies and the people who teach them.

  • Members will support the growth of their students/clients by stretching and challenging them, while allowing them to leave the class feeling seen and heard.

  • Members show an ongoing pursuit of respect to self, others, and Linklater Voice™, so that anyone who studies with a Designated Linklater Teacher can commit to the work without the threat of unnecessary harm.

INTEGRITY

  • Members commit to embody the work through their lived experience and use of language.

  • Members commit to teaching the work with clarity, specificity, and nuance while honoring the integrity of the person in front of them which includes that person’s language, lived experience, and cultural background.

  • Members continue to develop and deepen their understanding, embodiment, and application of the voice work through professional development and workshops to maintain the highest standard of teaching.

  • Members commit to maintaining a professional relationship while working with a student/client and will not engage in a sexual/romantic relationship while they are acting as their teacher or coach.

These commitments were drafted by the Designations & Training Committee’s Social Justice/Equity Working Group (Courtney Ferguson, Lisa Anne Porter, and Brett Radke) in collaboration with the Executive Team.

If you have any suggestions on how to improve them, or if you witness or become aware of any breach of these commitments, please contact president@klvf.org as soon as possible.