This one changed my life also. The diverse personalities and foreign cultures we all experience as "other" can be confusing--and for me, seemed to have no core

This one changed my life also. The diverse personalities and foreign cultures we all experience as "other" can be confusing--and for me, seemed to have no core theory that could broadly guide my interactions with people. Non-violent Communication helped me to understand there is a shared underpinning to the experience of being human--that emotions are fundamental, and that there are some universal human needs. From that foundation, I could see how important it is to observe the context of any conversation with someone, and to react based on an empathic curiosity of their feelings & needs. This freed me from a more narrow reaction space that was based on my interpretation/story of the content of their communication. Someone can be screaming "I hate you!" and be feeling hurt, alone, and scared. I think we recognize this most in connection with people we are close to and love, but don't know how for people we don't know or don't yet "love." Reacting to the content of someone's words vs. attempting to understand the contextual emotion & human needs almost always diverges into vastly different potential outcomes.