The Empathy Gym
Emotional Intelligence, unlike Cognitive Intelligence (IQ), can be grown and developed. Our empathic brains continue learning and evolving throughout our lives. We have a name for this continuous development: Wisdom.
The Empathy Gym strengthens your capacity for magnetic, compassionate leadership that creates resonant connections with everyone around you. Through cultivating moment-to-moment awareness of both your inner landscape and others' experiences, you'll build meaningful bonds with your team, peers, and loved ones. When people feel truly seen and heard, communication becomes not just more pleasant but measurably more effective. This heightened ability to see beyond yourself and into the hearts of others can transform everything—from navigating a teenager's emotional crisis to recognizing the unspoken needs of your marketplace.
Drawing from diverse disciplines including Buddhist attention training, the cutting-edge science of Interpersonal Neurobiology, and a powerful presence technique used by legendary actors from Sidney Poitier to Meryl Streep, this workshop connects you to your own authentic inner life while unlocking a deeper understanding of those around you.
JONNO ROBERTS
Empathy Coach
Jonno Roberts is a Kiwi American who has traded Manhattan for Matakana in order to live a good life in the country. Harvard educated, he has been a theatre director and teacher; corporate presentation coach; led his own private acting studio in Los Angeles; and as an actor himself has worked in film and TV, in major theatres from Moscow to Washington, DC, and starred on Broadway in two Tony Award-winning dramas.
From the very beginning, he has seen himself as a professional Empathy Athlete: Jonno approaches emotional intelligence as a discipline requiring dedicated practice and continuous development. Just as athletes train their bodies through consistent effort and structured regimens, Jonno has honed his capacity to deeply understand and connect with others' experiences across diverse contexts and emotional landscapes.
This empathic strength forms the foundation of his multifaceted career. Whether directing performers to access authentic emotional truth on stage, guiding corporate professionals to communicate with greater impact, or helping students discover their own creative voices, Jonno's work centers on the practiced ability to recognize, understand, and respond to the full spectrum of human emotion.
His transition from the intensity of Manhattan to the natural surroundings of Matakana reflects this philosophy—creating space for deeper connection and presence, while bringing the sophisticated empathic techniques developed throughout his international career to a new environment. Through his teaching and coaching, he demonstrates that empathic presence isn't merely an innate gift but a trainable skill that, with the right approach and dedicated practice, can transform how we connect with others and navigate our world.
Jonno is currently writing his first book: “Un-Breaking: connected parenting and healing past wounds”