“When you increase empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That’s when you can get more creative in solving problems.” ~ Stephen Covey
Increase Empathy Definition: Recognizing and appropriately responding to others’ emotions.
Importance: By actively practicing empathy, people are empowered to deepen their relationships with others. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel. It’s a remarkable ability – and opportunity – to form an emotional connection that fuels insight, trust, and helps us solve problems together.
Example: When someone is acting in a way that makes you angry or uncomfortable, empathy opens you up to the possibility of reconciliation. Instead of making assumptions about why the other person has acted in this way or that way, empathy opens you up to exploring the underlying emotional drivers of that person’s actions. Doing so often results in the formation of an emotional connection with that person, because we realize that they are also dealing with a complex emotional landscape that goes beyond what we see on the surface.
Increasing empathy helps you to deepen your relationships. It’s the link between self and others, how we connect, heal, and relate. As social creatures, humans are quite literally wired to feel empathy, and making the effort to practice empathy more frequently will bear the fruit of having deeper, more meaningful relationships – which in turn leads to a successful life professionally and personally.
The Components of Increase Empathy
Focusing on others is a precursor to empathy. The most basic component of empathy is noticing others.
“Self-absorption in all its forms kills empathy, let alone compassion. When we focus on ourselves, our world contracts as our problems and preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world expands.” ~ Daniel Goleman
Replacing assumptions with a sense of curiosity opens us up to empathy. As this story illustrates, curiosity opens us up to empathy. At Six Seconds, we like to use the metaphor of the iceberg. The behavior we see from others is only the tip of the iceberg, and the rest of the iceberg represents the emotional drivers behind that behavior. A sense of curiosity opens us up to looking beneath the surface and figuring out the deeper reasons why something has happened.
Videos
Emotional Intelligence Articles about Increase Empathy
A Journey through Empathy & Optimism: Amy Jimison in Voices from the Network (7/25/2024) - When you feel stuck and can’t see a way out, how do you navigate change? Certified Coach and leadership expert Amy Jimison shares her approach. ...
Increase Empathy in the Six Seconds Model of EQ (7/26/2023) - What is empathy, and how do we increase it? Articles, videos, quotes and resources to put empathy into action! ...
5 Questions to Develop Your Empathy: Increase Empathy for Success in 2023 (3/1/2023) - Empathy is crucial to developing healthy relationships with yourself and others. These 5 questions can help you take your empathy to the next level. ...
What’s Wrong with Empathy? EQ Coaching for Leadership (10/5/2022) - What does 'strong leadership' mean today? It turns out, (the right kind of) empathy & coaching are at the heart of how leaders ACTUALLY create impact. ...
87 Ways to Be Kind and Loving (6/27/2022) - Discover 87 ways to be kind and loving—plus the neuroscience of how kindness impacts your brain, body, and sense of purpose. Includes a free kindness activity kit. ...
The Empathy Iceberg: 3 Proven Tips for Managers to Engage People (1/17/2022) - How can managers use emotional intelligence to increase empathy in the workplace? It starts with a willingness to go "beneath the surface." ...
When You Don’t Click with Your Coworker (11/8/2021) - What can you do? Emotional intelligence tips to build bridges and collaborate better even when it's challenging. ...
Free Friendship and Empathy Kit from Red Nose Day & Six Seconds (10/19/2021) - In a time where so many children feel disconnected and alone, it's time to share skills for being and making friends! ...
Active Listening as a Leader: 4 Ways to Use Emotional Intelligence To Listen Well (7/12/2021) - Exceptional leaders have mastered the art of deep, active listening. Here are 4 practical tips to use emotional intelligence to listen well. ...
Empathy vs. Sympathy: What’s the Difference? (1/20/2021) - Learn the key difference of empathy vs. sympathy, including the most common sympathy traps. Plus tips to put empathy into action! ...Click here for more Increase Empathy articles on our site
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