How To Be Empathetic

Whenever you re talking to someone and wish to lend an empathetic ear the first thing you need to understand is that it s not about you.

How to be empathetic. Put yourself in the person s shoes. Show care and concern. That means no cell phones tablets or computers. Empathy is tough to measure but over the last twenty years psychologists have developed effective ways of doing so such as the reading the mind in the eyes test.

There is no one right way to be empathetic but i believe it involves the following actions. It s easy for us to comment and judge. Practicing loving kindness meditation however can help make you more empathetic. Commit your undivided attention to the conversation.

Give them the time they need to finish their thoughts and. Here are 8 tips to be empathetic to our friends colleagues and family. That s the secret to authentic empathic listening placing your conversation partner above your needs. Here are five steps you can take to become a better listener.

Then you can recognize behavior that appears at first sight to be over emotional stubborn or unreasonable as simply a reaction based on a person s prior knowledge and experiences. To use empathy effectively you need to put aside your own viewpoint and see things from the other person s perspective. As said there is a cognitive component to empathizing with another. Some people are more naturally empathetic than others but there are easy evidenced based exercises that anyone can do to increase their empathy.

Communicate this undivided attention by. Let the speaker actually speak. When someone tells you a personal problem chances are he she doesn t. Meditating is a great way to help yourself deal with things like depression and anxiety and just the stresses of day to day existence.

Talk to new people trying to imagine how someone. Start by doing regular meditation. And it can be quite hard to put aside personal opinions and make it all about him her. Focus your attention on the welfare interests and needs of others.