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Further, at what point does honest and valuable criticism become shame? It seems to me that this is predicated upon the subjective response of the individual. I

• kerkeslager 7y ago
  Yeah, I avoided my larger complaints about Non-violent Communication in my previous post. I think a lot of Rosenberg's advice is geared toward abdicating the listener's responsibility for managing their own emotions. Kind speech is certainly something to aspire to, but trying to manage the emotions of everyone you speak to is both unrealistic and ill-advised. Careful, well-intentioned honesty is much healthier, in my opinion. Some people won't react positively, but getting positive reactions from everyone wouldn't be a good all-consuming goal even if it weren't unrealistic. I have to temper this opinion by saying: It's hard to say how this plays out with people who are actually proficient with the techniques in the book, however. A lot of my criticism of the book comes from seeing people use the techniques, but perhaps the reason people pick up the book to begin with is to address harmful patterns in their communication, which might bias my experience toward the techniques being used by people with poor communication skills and confounding psychological issues.