In this teaching, Alan Rafael Seid introduces the difference between action-based requests and “connecting requests” in Nonviolent Communication. While action requests focus on practical needs, connecting requests are designed to deepen understanding, ensure mutual clarity, and keep difficult conversations flowing.

Through examples like asking someone to reflect back what they heard or to share what is alive in them, the speaker shows how these simple but powerful questions create space for genuine connection between two people. A real-life story of working with a long-term couple illustrates how slowing down and using connecting requests can transform communication and help people hear each other more deeply, even in emotionally charged situations.