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by pell 1583 days ago
I think NVC is a dangerous tool in the wrong hands (or mouth if you will). Or to put it a bit more fairly: I think, it’s easy to miss some of the nuance when reading the book and applying its principles without proper nuance. One of its cornerstones are reflections of the other party’s comments and feelings. Yet statements which are meant to display empathy can sound rather condescending. In an agitated state I might consider the following to be the verbal version of a middle finger: “Okay, so what I’m hearing is you’re angry because I broke my promise to you.” And the book is filled with such examples.

That said, NVC can be a really powerful tool if used with proper delicacy however. The idea of listening, reflecting verbally what and that you heard and then speaking from your perspective with clear markers without aggression can be a very strong way of having challenging conversations.