Some words appeal to emotions, desires and needs. Other words appeal to reason and fact. Words of both emotion and logic can contribute to painting pictures of ideas. Recognise the needs of others and express your ideas in words that form a mental picture that promises to supply those needs.
Vary your communication style. Use the communication style most comfortable and familiar to your listener. Featured Resource. Diversity in the workplace. Read the latest findings on diversity, from Australasia's leading workplace survey. There are clear signs in the latest Leadership, Employment and Direction L And I might even be challenged to change my thinking. Perhaps even more scary than an unwanted perspective is an unwanted feeling.
And I might feel some of what the other person is feeling. When I experience strong emotions, the last thing I want to do is seek to understand. Physiologically, my body goes into self-protection mode, and social skills are even more difficult.
And to the extent I was boosting myself up by putting them down, I may fall down a notch or two. Demonstrating empathy takes effort and practice. To demonstrate empathy, most of us need to be continually reminded of these tips from Captain Obvious: Talk less, listen more.
Come to the conversation prepared with key questions versus statements. Listen to connect. Actively listening with empathy is a powerful and conversationally intelligent approach. While there is some evidence that the ability to empathize is traced to genetic predisposition, it's also true that empathy is a skill that can be increased or decreased. One of the most effective ways for someone to become empathic is for them to be trained as children.
Empathy is a part of education known as "emotional intelligence. If a child hurts another child or teases them, it's helpful to ask the child how they think they made the other one feel. You can ask them how they would feel if someone had treated them that way. Would they like to be teased or hurt? Would they be sad or angry if someone had treated them poorly? This line of thought can also be used for positive things. For example, sharing is an important part of a young child's education.
Children are often taught to share because they like it when others share with them. It's easy to teach children to treat others with kindness because they too would like to be treated kindly.
While it is easier to train a person from childhood to be empathic, it is also possible for adults to increase their levels of empathy. Below are some ways that will help improve a person's empathy. Believe it or not, reading fiction can actually increase your empathy.
New studies show that when people read fiction, their brains really feel like they're entering a new world. For example, researchers from the University of Buffalo studied participants who had read Twilight and Harry Potter. What they discovered is that people self-identified as vampires and wizards respectively. The reason this discovery matters is because it shows that people are able to identify with people and groups that are actually outside of themselves.
To put this into a non-fantasy application, it shows that people can relate to people who live lives that are entirely different than their own. For example, people from the United States could read a book about a person in China and learn to identify with someone on the other side of the planet. Listening to others is a very good way of developing empathy. When we take the time to listen to the things that other people are telling us it is an easy way of understanding how they think and feel.
Listening is best achieved when we set aside our own thoughts and opinions and carefully think about what another person is saying. We can also do a better job of listening when we set aside distractions like cell phones or tablets. When we give our undivided attention to others we will make them feel like they are cared for and it gives us an opportunity to truly understand their point of view.
For many, it is much easier to identify with people who are in our "in-group. This type of thinking can be inhibiting in a diverse workplace, or it may suppress compassionate empathy for those outside of our own communities. To challenge this type of thinking, it's important to take the time to understand people who are different. To expand empathy, a person might have to challenge pre-conceived notions and biases and consider another person's point of view.
This can also be achieved be people widening their circle and becoming friends with people they might not ordinarily spend time with. They may be surprised to find that they have more in common than they first believed, and it is even more likely that they will broaden their ability for empathy. Unfortunately, even those with advanced degrees in communications are often guilty of saying "I'm sorry" repeatedly in their personal and professional interactions.
Examples abound: apologizing profusely when it takes a few hours to answer a text or email; offering up a hasty mea culpa when you accidentally bump someone in…. Communications, at its essence, is the study of human interaction and expression.
Students pursuing a…. Free speech may be something that we take for granted in the United States, but…. Are you a good communicator?
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