Marshall B. Rosenberg explains how focusing on people's underlying needs and making observations instead of judgments can revolutionize the way we interact with anyone — even our worst enemies.

Free speech advocates commonly argue that speech is the opposite of violence — words can offend us, but they don't do actual harm.

But according to communications expert Marshall B. Rosenberg, most people's default manner of speaking to others is highly violent, if you consider 'violence' to include attempts at cutting others down to size and coercing them into doing what we want.

Whether or not most ordinary speakers are constantly committing literal acts of 'violence' or not, most of us can see the potential benefit of learning to communicate more effectively.

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life looks at what is morally and pragmatically wrong with many things we tend to say in our everyday lives and helps us figure out what we could say instead.