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Portrait of Marshall B. Rosenberg

Marshall B. Rosenberg

283 quotes in 865 categories

Marshall B. Rosenberg talks about empathy and how it shapes our relationships. He says you can’t give empathy when you need it yourself, that understanding another’s needs doesn’t mean you must ignore your own, and that punishment only fuels violence. His words also point to non‑violent communication as a tool for a calmer mind.

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Marshall B. Rosenberg was an American psychologist and teacher who created the nonviolent communication method in the 1960s to help people resolve conflicts.

Quick Facts About Marshall B. Rosenberg

Notable works: Nonviolent Communication

About Marshall B. Rosenberg

He also worked as a mediator and author, traveling around the world to teach his approach. In 1984 he founded the Center for Nonviolent Communication, a nonprofit where he was the Director of Educational Services. His ideas were shaped by seeing the Detroit race riot of 1943 and by facing antisemitism as a child.

Quotes by Marshall B. Rosenberg

All human actions are an attempt to meet needs.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Action

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We need to receive empathy to give empathy.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Empathy

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When we judge others we contribute to violence.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Communication

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Translate all self-judgments into self-empathy.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Empathy

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Never do anything that isn't play.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Communication

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Avoid 'shoulding' on others and yourself!

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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Always hear the 'Yes' in the 'No'.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Communication

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Ask before offering advice or reassurance.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Advice

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Don't hate the circumstance, you may miss the blessing

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Blessing

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What others do may be the stimulus of our feelings, but never the cause.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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Understanding the other persons' needs does not mean you have to give up on your own needs.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Communication

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People heal from their pain when they have an authentic connection with another human being.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Communication

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The more we talk about the past, the less we heal from it.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Communication

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NVC gives us tools and understanding to create a more peaceful state of mind.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Communication

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When we hear the other person's feelings and needs, we recognize our common humanity.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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The first step in healing is to put the focus on what's alive now, not what happened in the past.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Alive

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We need empathy to give empathy. When we sense ourselves being defensive or unable to empathize, we need to (a) stop, breathe,…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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As soon as you say, "are you feeling X because I ..." Then the Jackal starts to salivate because he can educate…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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To practice NVC, it's critical for me to be able to slow down, take my time, to come from an energy I…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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Social change involves helping people see new options for making life wonderful that are less costly to get needs met.

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Change

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“feelings result from how we choose to receive what others say and do, as well as from our particular needs and expectations…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Expectations

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I wouldn't expect someone who's been injured to hear my side until they felt that I had fully understood the depth of…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Depth

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Use the words "I feel because I" to remind us that what we feel it isn't because of what the other person…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Choices

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In a Giraffe institution, the head nurse job would be to serve the nurses, not to control them. Teachers are there to…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Communication

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When we express our needs indirectly through the use of evaluations, interpretations, and images, others are likely to hear criticism. When people…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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The Indian philosopher J. Krishnamurti once remarked that observing without evaluating is the highest form of human intelligence. When I first read…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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Nonviolent Communication is a way of keeping our consciousness tuned in moment by moment to that beauty within ourselves and others, and…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Beauty

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In empathy, you don't speak at all. You speak with the eyes. You speak with your body. If you say any words…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Alive

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Clinical training in psychoanalysis has a deficit. It teaches how to sit and think about what a person is saying and how…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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Life-Enriching Education: an education that prepares children to learn throughout their lives, relate well to others, and themselves, be creative, flexible, and…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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When you are in a jackal environment, never give them the power to submit or rebel. We want to teach this to…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Children

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“the more you become a connoisseur of gratitude, the less you are a victim of resentment, depression, and despair. Gratitude will act…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Gratitude

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If you think ahead to what to say next - like how to fix it or make the person feel better -…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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The Chinese philosopher Chuang-Tzu stated that true empathy requires listening with the whole being: The hearing that is only in the ears…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Chinese

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Any evaluation which implies rightness or wrongness is a tragic, suicidal expression of an unmet need. Tragic, first because it decreases our…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Communication

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“Now, with regard to the people who have done things we call "terrorism," I'm confident they have been expressing their pain in…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Agitated

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We never really know what we want until after we get it. If after we get it, it makes life more miserable,…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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I'm going to show you a technology today which takes insults and criticisms out of the airwaves. (Marshall puts on giraffe ears)…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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Peace requires something far more difficult than revenge or merely turning the other cheek; it requires empathizing with the fears and unmet…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Connections

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I recommend allowing others the opportunity to fully express themselves before turning our attention to solutions or requests for relief. When we…

Marshall B. Rosenberg

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Marshall B. Rosenberg by topic

Communication (194) Nonviolent communication (193) Empathy (55) People (50) Thinking (29) Life (25) Feelings (25) Giving (23) Compassion (20) Pain (19) Inspirational (18) Time (17) Violence (15)