EMPATHY

What is empathy?
Simply put, it is the ability to put yourself in
the callers' situations (in their 'shoes')
You understand and share
- their thoughts
- their emotions
- their situation
It's an important inter-personal skill,
especially in helping callers, and is best
demonstrated through genuine listening
 What is not empathy ?

- being casual and insensitive with callers

- displaying a 'know-all' attitude
- moving to problem solving without
listening actively
- expressing judgement and opinions
 How does it help ?
- It helps establish rapport with the callers
- It helps build a relationship between callers
and counsellors
- It helps the counsellors gain the callers'
trust and confidence
- It causes the callers' self-esteem to rise
- It helps the callers feel comfortable enough
to open up
How can empathy be developed?
- active and sincere listening with careful
observation of both verbal and non-verbal
expression
- gauge and understand the caller’s feelings and
meanings (both expressed and implied)
- demonstrate warmth and concern when listening
- listen with commitment and responsibility
- respond appropriately and confirm
understanding
 We know we're empathic when...
- we are able to confirm accurate understanding
- we are not interrupting to offer advice or
solutions
- we are open to correcting our earlier
impressions that we now find are inaccurate
- we are able to understand and connect the
callers' statements even when they appear self-
contradictory
 Last, but not least...

Practice helps. As you try it

consciously, fine tune your skills, and
evaluate your progress, you can
improve your 'empathy quotient'