Jack: You know how lonely I’m feeling. If you really loved me, you’d spend the evening with me. Again, instead of empathizing, Jack now interprets Jane’s response to mean that she doesn’t love him and that she has rejected him. The more we interpret noncompliance as rejection, the more likely our requests will be heard as demands. This leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy, for the more people hear demands, the less they enjoy being around us. It’s a demand if the speaker then lays a guilt trip.
