--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With empathy we don't direct, we follow…" description: "\"With empathy we don't direct, we follow. Don't just do something, be there.\" — Marshall B. Rosenberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/marshall-b-rosenberg-1145_direct_with-empathy-we-don-t-direct-we-follow-d_3028817.png" --- # With empathy we don't direct, we follow. Don't just do… ![“With empathy we don't direct, we follow. Don't just do something, be there.” quote by Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/marshall-b-rosenberg-1145_direct_with-empathy-we-don-t-direct-we-follow-d_3028817.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/marshall-b-rosenberg-1145_direct_with-empathy-we-don-t-direct-we-follow-d_3028817.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/marshall-b-rosenberg-1145_direct_with-empathy-we-don-t-direct-we-follow-d_3028817.png) > “With empathy we don't direct, we follow. Don't just do something, be there.” [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Empathy requires presence and listening rather than directing actions; true support is being there. **In simple terms:** Empathy is about listening, not leading. Key Takeaway Practice listening and being present. Themes empathy presence communication relationships Mood compassionate reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - counseling sessions - conflict resolution - friendship Key Concepts active listening non‑judgment supportive presence Questions to Reflect On - How can you stay present without trying to fix? - What does “being there” look like in practice? A Different Perspective Over‑directing can hinder genuine connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) [Direct Follow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct-follow-4937662/) [Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [Empathy Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy-don-4937661/) [Follow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/follow/) [Follow Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/follow-don-4336483/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [In empathy, you don't speak at all. You speak with the eyes. You speak with your body. If you say any words at all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/in-empathy-you-don-t-speak-at-all-you-speak-with-the-eyes-you-speak/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Tragically, one of the rarest commodities in our culture is empathy. People are hungry for empathy, They don't know how to ask for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/tragically-one-of-the-rarest-commodities-in-our-culture-is-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [We follow,those who don t with us,and who follow us,we don t wanna to be those.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin/we-follow-those-who-don-t-with-us-and-who-follow-us-we-don-t-wanna-to/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin/) > [If you were not brave enough to follow me up there, don't join me when am there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bismark-frimpong/if-you-were-not-brave-enough-to-follow-me-up-there-don-t-join-me-when/) [Bismark Frimpong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bismark-frimpong/) > [If you don't follow Don King, you get stepped on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-holmes/if-you-don-t-follow-don-king-you-get-stepped-on/) [Larry Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-holmes/) > [If you don't like it, don't follow me, don't watch me, cause I'm not going anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gigi-hadid/if-you-don-t-like-it-don-t-follow-me-don-t-watch-me-cause-i-m-not/) [Gigi Hadid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gigi-hadid/) > [If the other persons behavior is not in harmony with my own needs, the more I empathize with them and their needs, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/if-the-other-persons-behavior-is-not-in-harmony-with-my-own-needs-the/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [“Now, with regard to the people who have done things we call "terrorism," I'm confident they have been expressing their pain in many different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/now-with-regard-to-the-people-who-have-done-things-we-call-terrorism/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Postpone result/solution thinking until later; it's through connection that solutions materialize - empathy before education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/postpone-result-solution-thinking-until-later-it-s-through-connection/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [The number one rule of our training is empathy before education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/the-number-one-rule-of-our-training-is-empathy-before-education/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [If you think ahead to what to say next - like how to fix it or make the person feel better - BOOM! Off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/if-you-think-ahead-to-what-to-say-next-like-how-to-fix-it-or-make-the/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Often, instead of offering empathy, we have a strong urge to give advice or reassurance and to explain our own position or feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/often-instead-of-offering-empathy-we-have-a-strong-urge-to-give/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Staying with empathy we allow speakers to touch deeper levels of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/staying-with-empathy-we-allow-speakers-to-touch-deeper-levels-of/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Hence it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is then a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/hence-it-demands-the-emptiness-of-all-the-faculties-and-when-the/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) ## More by Marshall B. Rosenberg > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Understanding the other persons' needs does not mean you have to give up on your own needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/understanding-the-other-persons-needs-does-not-mean-you-have-to-give/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Plans to exact retribution are never going to make us safer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/plans-to-exact-retribution-are-never-going-to-make-us-safer/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [NVC gives us tools and understanding to create a more peaceful state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/nvc-gives-us-tools-and-understanding-to-create-a-more-peaceful-state/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [What I want in my life is compassion a flow between myself and others based on mutual giving from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/what-i-want-in-my-life-is-compassion-a-flow-between-myself-and-others/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Analyses of others are actually expressions of our own needs and values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/analyses-of-others-are-actually-expressions-of-our-own-needs-and/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Staying with empathy we allow speakers to touch deeper levels of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/staying-with-empathy-we-allow-speakers-to-touch-deeper-levels-of/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Punishment is the root of violence on our planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/punishment-is-the-root-of-violence-on-our-planet/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Often, instead of offering empathy, we have a strong urge to give advice or reassurance and to explain our own position or feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/often-instead-of-offering-empathy-we-have-a-strong-urge-to-give/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [NVC is founded on language and communication skills that strengthen our ability to remain human, even under trying conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/nvc-is-founded-on-language-and-communication-skills-that-strengthen/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Ask before offering advice or reassurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/ask-before-offering-advice-or-reassurance/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [If you think ahead to what to say next - like how to fix it or make the person feel better - BOOM! Off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/if-you-think-ahead-to-what-to-say-next-like-how-to-fix-it-or-make-the/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Two questions help us see why we are unlikely to get what we want by using punishment... The first question is: What do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/two-questions-help-us-see-why-we-are-unlikely-to-get-what-we-want-by/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Praise and reward create a system of extrinsic motivations for behavior. Children (and adults) end up taking action in order to receive the praise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/praise-and-reward-create-a-system-of-extrinsic-motivations-for/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Everything we do is in service of our needs. When this one concept is applied to our view of others, we'll see that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/everything-we-do-is-in-service-of-our-needs-when-this-one-concept-is/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) [Explore all 283 Marshall B. Rosenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) ## More Direct quotes > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody can direct a picture once they know the fundamentals. Directing is not a mystery, it's not an art. The main thing about directing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/anybody-can-direct-a-picture-once-they-know-the-fundamentals/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [The method of magnitude estimation provided a direct measure of sensation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-smith-stevens/the-method-of-magnitude-estimation-provided-a-direct-measure-of/) [Stanley Smith Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-smith-stevens/) > [A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/a-place-has-almost-the-shyness-of-a-person-with-strangers-and-its/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [I'm currently trying to direct my own material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-skerritt/i-m-currently-trying-to-direct-my-own-material/) [Tom Skerritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-skerritt/) > [By the time you get into other kinds of music - R&B, country, or whatever - it becomes something that's romantic. It becomes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/by-the-time-you-get-into-other-kinds-of-music-r-b-country-or-whatever/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [If you take all the food aid, America is by far the most generous country. If you take the direct aid, we're very generous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-you-take-all-the-food-aid-america-is-by-far-the-most-generous/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I understand the formula that producers hire directors and directors are hired to direct and actors are hired to act. I don't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-trejo/i-understand-the-formula-that-producers-hire-directors-and-directors/) [Danny Trejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-trejo/) > [They are the gateway for our modern esthetic development, the prophets of the new time. They are most of all, the primitives of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/they-are-the-gateway-for-our-modern-esthetic-development-the-prophets/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [I'm too direct and too unsparingly impatient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-m-too-direct-and-too-unsparingly-impatient/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. He put his dog in a certain position and made him eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/steven-spielberg-seems-to-have-wanted-to-be-a-director-from-13-he-put/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Violence is what people do when they run out of good ideas. It's attractive because it's simple, it's direct, it's almost always available as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/violence-is-what-people-do-when-they-run-out-of-good-ideas-it-s/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) [Browse all 3,391 Direct quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With empathy we don't direct, we follow. Don't just do something, be there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marshall B. Rosenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/with-empathy-we-don-t-direct-we-follow-don-t-just-do-something-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Direct" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/with-empathy-we-don-t-direct-we-follow-don-t-just-do-something-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/marshall-b-rosenberg-1145_direct_with-empathy-we-don-t-direct-we-follow-d_3028817.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/marshall-b-rosenberg-1145_direct_with-empathy-we-don-t-direct-we-follow-d_3028817.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/marshall-b-rosenberg-1145_direct_with-empathy-we-don-t-direct-we-follow-d_3028817.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“With empathy we don't direct, we follow. Don't just do something, be there.” — Marshall B. Rosenberg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "With empathy we don't direct, we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/with-empathy-we-don-t-direct-we-follow-don-t-just-do-something-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/with-empathy-we-don-t-direct-we-follow-don-t-just-do-something-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```