The Heart of Non-Violent Communication

Observation, feeling, need and request: Non-Violent Communication is often taught through these four elements. ‘Das Herz der Gewaltfreien Kommunikation’ takes a different approach. Stephanie Bachmann Mattei and Kristin K. Collier open up NVC through 25 key distinctions.

They explore which actions and mindsets connect us with life and which are more likely to create separation. For example, the authors consider requests as distinct from demands, love as a feeling as distinct from love as a need, and empathetic attunement as distinct from intellectual conjecture.

Through upbringing and socialisation, patterns of thought and action that distance us from life are often more familiar to us. When we know both sides and can distinguish between them consciously, new choices become available.

Each chapter contains examples from different parts of the world, along with exercises and prompts for reflection. The authors also incorporate findings from neuroscience, existing power structures and systemic influences. In this way, they connect the spiritual foundations of NVC with its significance for social change.

Stephanie Bachmann Mattei is a certified NVC trainer, an assessor for the Center for Nonviolent Communication and an MBSR trainer. She studied philosophy in Florence and explored Indian philosophy in her doctoral thesis. Kristin K. Collier is an author whose work in NVC focuses particularly on parenting and neurodiversity. She teaches and leads groups for children and young people, including those on the autism spectrum.

Lucy Leu, author of the 14-Wochen-Übungsprogramm zur Gewaltfreien Kommunikation, believes the book enables a new generation to continue, deepen and unfold Marshall Rosenberg's work.

‘Das Herz der Gewaltfreien Kommunikation’ was published by Junfermann Verlag, translated into German by Franka Reinhart and Anja Lerz, and comprises 424 paperback pages.