by James McIntyre-Ure | April, 2023 | empathy, James McIntyre-Ure
Difficult conversations are an inevitable part of life, whether it’s resolving a conflict with a loved one or consoling a friend in distress. These conversations are emotionally charged which makes them tricky to navigate in the heat of the moment. A key skill that helps us during these times is empathy and it’s becoming quite the buzzword. Empathy allows us to connect on a deeper level, understand perspective, and respond to needs in a more compassionate and rational way. Speaking to emotions makes people feel accepted and heard, whereas when they are not acknowledged, it can make them feel resentful, rejected or unimportant. Read on for a step-by-step approach on how to remain empathetic, during difficult conversations. Avoid mind reading Has your partner ever responded to you with “Don’t tell me how I feel!”? If so, this is completely plausible because you’ll never be able to fully understand another person’s lived experience. The best you can do is be curious about gathering enough information to help you imagine what it’s like to be in their shoes. The minute you start jumping to conclusions is the minute you start mind reading, and we are all so bad at this. Even the likes of Derren Brown (famous mentalist and illusionist), would admit they can’t actually mind reading but are experts at creating enough illusions to make it seem to be the case. Other reasons we are bad at mind reading are because people’s challenging situations can trigger an emotional response that clouds our judgment, not to mention 24 cognitive biases at play. Allow time to vent During times of...
