Running Head: The Use Of Empathy As A Communication Technique
Running Head: The Use of Empathy
The Use of Empathy as a Communication Technique
Virginia Howard
HHS 307 Communications Skills for Health & Human Service Personnel
Instructor Katherine Martinek
November 14, 2011
The Use of Empathy 1 Using empathy as a communication technique is a good way to help the listener to understand their speaker as well as identify with the emotions of the speaker. The empathy technique allows the listener to be more tolerant, compassionate and be able to accept any differences that the speaker may have without difficulty. Empathy being used as a communication technique is important in …show more content…
Empathy will allow a person to build a strong relationship off of trust and honesty along with understanding, and at the same time giving them the strength to disagree without prejudice or judging some else. Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner Empathy is basically putting yourself in the emotional shoes of someone else by being able to feel what they are feeling as if it was you going through the situation. Empathy is a tricky technique that you must not get confused with sympathy which is a term used to refer to the act of feeling the feelings or needs of another. It is usually accompanied by responses of sadness or pity.
The Use of Empathy …show more content…
For example, if one your clients or patients come to you with an emotional problem about their pet parrot has died, you need to find out the reason the loss of a parrot has gotten them so upset. Once you have talk with them a little longer you realize that they got the parrot after a love one had passed away to try and fill a void in their life and it was their way of dealing with their loss. You then come to the reality of the parrot passing is bringing up memories of a love one that was deceased. You must be sincere with the words that you use to try and help them to cope with yet another loss. You must be sensitive toward them, so try using words such as “I understand how you must be feeling”, continue to listen, this will let them know or feel that understand even though you may not agree with the way they are handling the situation. You also can apologize to them by saying something like “I sorry you had to go through this so soon”. When using empathy as a communication technique you have to put yourself in the other person’s position. You must establish trust with the other person in order to get them to open up and discuss their problems with you. A human service professional with a high level of empathy is less likely to be judgmental or stereotype another person. Always take responsibility for your actions and try not to hurt
The Use of Empathy as a Communication Technique
Virginia Howard
HHS 307 Communications Skills for Health & Human Service Personnel
Instructor Katherine Martinek
November 14, 2011
The Use of Empathy 1 Using empathy as a communication technique is a good way to help the listener to understand their speaker as well as identify with the emotions of the speaker. The empathy technique allows the listener to be more tolerant, compassionate and be able to accept any differences that the speaker may have without difficulty. Empathy being used as a communication technique is important in …show more content…
Empathy will allow a person to build a strong relationship off of trust and honesty along with understanding, and at the same time giving them the strength to disagree without prejudice or judging some else. Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner Empathy is basically putting yourself in the emotional shoes of someone else by being able to feel what they are feeling as if it was you going through the situation. Empathy is a tricky technique that you must not get confused with sympathy which is a term used to refer to the act of feeling the feelings or needs of another. It is usually accompanied by responses of sadness or pity.
The Use of Empathy …show more content…
For example, if one your clients or patients come to you with an emotional problem about their pet parrot has died, you need to find out the reason the loss of a parrot has gotten them so upset. Once you have talk with them a little longer you realize that they got the parrot after a love one had passed away to try and fill a void in their life and it was their way of dealing with their loss. You then come to the reality of the parrot passing is bringing up memories of a love one that was deceased. You must be sincere with the words that you use to try and help them to cope with yet another loss. You must be sensitive toward them, so try using words such as “I understand how you must be feeling”, continue to listen, this will let them know or feel that understand even though you may not agree with the way they are handling the situation. You also can apologize to them by saying something like “I sorry you had to go through this so soon”. When using empathy as a communication technique you have to put yourself in the other person’s position. You must establish trust with the other person in order to get them to open up and discuss their problems with you. A human service professional with a high level of empathy is less likely to be judgmental or stereotype another person. Always take responsibility for your actions and try not to hurt