While many people associate empathy and deep listening as the cornerstone of Collaborative Communication, equally important is the skill of expressing our needs honestly to other people. Read on for a real-life example of how I handled it when I was faced with an opportunity to express my needs.

On September 21, 2018, I encourage you to join people around the world in celebrating the 37th annual International Day of Peace, informally known as "Peace Day." Established by a unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Day provides a globally shared day for all of humanity to contribute to building a Culture of Peace in our … Continue reading Celebrate International Peace Day!

In many large business organizations, internal teams and departments can either “hire” other departments in-house for work needed, often getting the best possible price for those contracts, or they can outsource the work, if there’s a good reason to do so. It all depends on the discretion of the budgeting department, who acts as the … Continue reading Saving Personnel During Budget Cuts 

Awhile ago, I passed by an ASPCA van, with cats up for adoption. I went over to take a look and fell in love with a cat called Caiden. I love Irish names, so he caught my attention. I already had two cats at home and wasn’t looking for a third, but Caiden was so … Continue reading Kitty Empathy

Several years ago I was heading to a holiday party I’d organized with a bunch of supplies in tow.  I live in New York City and was riding the subway.  I packed all the decorations and food in a large cart with wheels to make it easy to transport. By the time I got to … Continue reading Empathy in the Face of Powerful Structures

If you’re attempting to communicate with someone who doesn't speak or sign the same language as you, and you don’t have an interpreter, no matter how clear or connected your communication, you may not be heard or understood. There are external or structural issues at play. Your empathic intention---communicated via your facial expressions and body … Continue reading Creating Peace and Change: A Multi-Level Approach

Note: this blog post is a transcription of a podcast made in January, which you can listen to here.  The NVC Academy- which offers online courses on Nonviolent Communication, held a telethon last year and invited trainers to donate prizes. In addition to donating copies of my book, Urban Empathy, I also donated speaking on … Continue reading Working with our Learning Curves

I recently got into a discussion about the concept of “deserve” thanks to the person who sends out emails for me, who dropped the “D” word in a recent subject line about a program I’m leading next week in North Carolina. If you missed it, the subject line read:  “You Deserve Your Best Life.”   … Continue reading What Do You Deserve? And Do You Really Want to Deserve Anything?

Most people value authenticity in their lives -- being honest, genuine, and real, and true to their values and their vision. If we want love and a depth of connection in our lives (most people I know want this), we want love and connection based on who we “really” are... our authentic selves! Authenticity in … Continue reading Living in Full Authenticity