Recognizes another person's feelings and tries to understand their perspective.
Reach for it when praising a response that begins with the other person's experience
The empathetic supervisor asked what had made the return to work difficult before offering solutions.
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional |
|
| formal |
everyday
Fits when subtle feelings or needs are noticed quickly
Careful Sensitivity can describe being easily affected oneself and may not involve understanding another person.
everyday
Fits when practical or emotional backing is the visible contribution
Careful Support may be offered from one's own assumptions rather than from careful understanding.
warm
Fits when concern for suffering leads to a wish to help
Careful Compassion responds to pain; empathy can also understand joy, frustration, or an unfamiliar viewpoint.
warm
Fits when patient acceptance matters more than precise emotional insight
Careful It can mean simply forgiving or knowledgeable, so it may not show perspective-taking.
warm
Fits when friendliness and human connection are immediately felt
Careful A warm manner can cheer someone while still missing what they are actually feeling.
professional
Fits when actions accommodate another person's comfort or needs
Careful Good manners can be considerate without any deep grasp of the person's perspective.
professional
Fits when accurate observation reveals what others miss
Careful Insight into behavior can remain detached, whereas empathetic insight attends to lived feeling.
formal
Fits when merciful treatment and respect for human welfare are at stake
Careful The ethical breadth of humane is better for policies or treatment than for one person's listening skill.
empathetic listener
An empathetic listener, Salma let the student finish before asking what support would help.
empathetic response
His empathetic response acknowledged both the disappointment and the effort behind it.
empathetic leader
The empathetic leader changed the rota after learning how the night shifts affected caregivers.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Yangolin, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Updated
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