Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

Marshall B. Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life (1999) is a work of nonfiction that explores the importance of compassion and empathy in human relationships. Rosenberg’s own model of communication, Nonviolent Communication, prioritizes the recognition and expression of needs and feelings; it condemns the normalized practice of judging and blaming others, which disconnects us from our own compassion and therefore disconnects us from human connection. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life has won a number of awards, including the 2006 Bridge of Peace Nonviolence Award from the Global Village Foundation and the 2014 Champion of Forgiveness Award from the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance.

This guide is written utilizing the 2005, 2nd Edition of Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life.

Summary

Rosenberg begins by suggesting that we are naturally predisposed to kindness and compassion, but that we are socially trained to see others’ actions as the source of our discontent. Through honesty and compassion, we can re-train ourselves to clearly express our own needs and the associated feelings that our met or unmet needs elicit. Rosenberg represents the expression of our needs to others as a gift, since it allows others to enhance our lives, something human beings naturally want to do.