Roman Krznaric is a cultural thinker and writer on the art of living. He is a founding faculty member of The School of Life in London, and advises organisations including Oxfam and the United Nations on using empathy and conversation to create social change. He is also founder of the world’s first Empathy Library. His latest book is Empathy: A Handbook for Revolution. He has been named by The Observer as one of Britain’s leading lifestyle philosophers.

2 Minute Interview:

How does your workshop relate to being in the NOW?

I’m going to be talking about empathy and the way it can transform our relationships, from the personal to the political. The power of empathy emerges from really being present to other people in the here and NOW, so we can become finely attuned to their needs and feelings.

What are you most looking forward to doing within your slot at NOW?

Getting people talking to me and to each other. And revealing how empathy relates to the lost medieval ‘inner sense’ of imagination – part of NOW’s ‘senses’ theme this year.

Any tips on how the audience can most benefit from your workshop? 

All you need to do is to bring along your curiosity about other human beings!

At Deptford Lounge:

The Six Habits of Highly Empathic People by Roman Krznaric

Drawing on his new book, ‘Empathy: A Handbook for Revolution’, cultural thinker and School of Life faculty member Roman Krznaric reveals how empathy – the art of stepping into the shoes of another person and seeing the world from their perspective – can not only enrich your own life but also help create social change. Empathy, he argues, has the power to transform relationships, from the personal to the political. Discussing everything from the empathy experiments of George Orwell to developments in neuroscience and industrial design, from the struggle against slavery in the eighteenth century to the Middle East crisis today, Roman explores six different ways we can expand our empathic potential.

romankrznaric.com / outrospection.org / empathylibrary.com /