“Empathy is trying on someone else’s shoes, sympathy is putting them on.” A stranger
Empathy is an emotional skill and it is necessary to both understand and practice if you are going to be one of the greats.
The best way to understand empathy is to recognize it. The following are some examples of empathy in motion.
1. “Would it be possible to get a new pair, because it’s a manufacturing fault and I need to go running tonight?” asked the rather disgruntled customer. “I’m sorry sir, but our companies’ policy is to send the shoes to the supplier and they will tell us what to do regarding the replacement, in about 7-10 days,” the assistant store manager replied with an apology. tone “You know, that really doesn’t fit me,” the customer responded with a mix of frustration and anger, “If I give you these defective shoes back, what am I supposed to jog in?” The assistant store manager responded as politely as he could, “I’m sorry sir, but that’s our company policy, it says so on the back of your receipt. Sending the shoes to the supplier is the best I can do. I’m scared!” !” “Well, that sucks,” the customer said, unable to hide her irritation from him.
“I’ll speak to your managing director!” He continued and stormed off. While there probably wasn’t much the assistant store manager could do to change company policy, let’s also assume for story purposes that there was ABSOLUTELY no alternative open to him. What could he have done to help defuse the situation? He could have used empathy. The assistant store manager might have recognized the feelings of the customers. He? Had he responded with “I see how frustrated you are. We really have let you down, haven’t we?” This reflection of the customer’s emotion, this empathy would have alleviated the customer’s disappointment and frustration, even if all else remained the same. Without empathy, all the assistant store manager heard was the content of what the customer was saying. He never listened to the feelings of frustration and disappointment from him.
2. “I can tell you really love them. They really look fabulous.” Rita honestly responded to the client. “Yeah! They look great and feel great too, I’m just worried about the price. Is there anything you can do to bring the price down a bit?” replied the customer. “I understand you’re frustrated, especially since they fit so well,” Rita teased. “Is it hard enough trying to find something you like, and something that fits you, and then realizing it’s out of your price range?” She continued, “Look, I can’t promise you a discount, but how about I talk to my manager for a bit and see what he says? If I can work something out, do you want to take them?” The customer smiled slightly and nodded appreciatively.
3. “So that’s the story,” my best friend said as he finished his sad tale of grief and tried to play down his emotions. “But these things always happen for the best, don’t they?” “Do you sound pretty sad about the whole thing?” I replied. “Actually you’re right” he continued, “the truth is that I feel sad, how did you know?”
4. “It’s ridiculous to pay these prices when I would have exceeded them at the end of the season,” he complained. “I agree,” Eric replied, holding the football boot on the young man’s left foot. “It seems crazy to spend so much when, as you say, you’ll only get one season with them. Would you rather I show you something less expensive?” “How would the quality be?” asked the anxious mother. “I can appreciate your concern.” Eric responded, “The quality is fine, my concern would be more about the width,” she continued. “This young man has, as you know, a very wide foot and the least expensive boots will probably be too narrow which could create blisters.” “Well, I guess we’ll have to bite the bullet then, huh?” the customer said, patting his son’s shoulder.
5. “Good morning John, how are you this morning?” I asked. “Yeah…okay…” John replied with a sigh. “You sound a little out of sorts this morning, what’s up?” I questioned “I’m fine” John replied, “I had a really hard night with the kids last night. They were all sick and Sammy’s sick too so I was mom, dad, doctor, nurse and housekeeper until around 1 o’clock this morning. tomorrow” “Sounds harsh, is there anything I can do to help?”
Did you find empathy in the above scenarios? Read the quotes and explanations written below. Then reread the previous thumbnails. You will then have a better understanding of empathy and its power as a communication and persuasion tool.
Empathy is:
“The ability to imagine yourself in another’s place and understand the other’s feelings, desires, ideas, and actions. The most obvious example, perhaps, is the actor or singer who genuinely feels for the role they are playing.” sam vaknin
“Empathy depends not only on one’s ability to identify another person’s emotions, but also on one’s ability to put oneself in the other person’s shoes and experience an appropriate emotional response” Charles G. Morris
“Empathy is like giving someone a psychological hug” Lawrence J.
bookbinder, doctorate
