Empathic listening is a combination of empathy, empathy and understanding. Empathy is an understanding of the spiritual state of the interlocutor, which he expresses through verbal communication . There is a huge amount of techniques for listening to empathy. Empathy in communication means a lot for you and your interlocutor, so we suggest learning the methods of empathic listening.
Methods of empathic hearing
The manifestation of empathy is usually necessary in order for the interlocutor to speak better. You will be able to demonstrate that you are attentive to him and understand the course of his thoughts. We have identified eight methods of empathic hearing, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with them.
- Activation and approval of the interlocutor's speech. You should keep in touch with your eyes, and also nod your head in the rhythm of the speech of your counterpart. You can insert small phrases into his monologue, for example: "Yeah, yes, I agree with you, very interesting."
- Clarifying questions. If any moments seem ambiguous or incomprehensible to you, do not hesitate to clarify with your interlocutor what is bothering you. You can ask him such questions as: "Could you clarify to me?", "Repeat, please", "what exactly do you mean?".
- Repetitions. If you unobtrusively repeat the words of the interlocutor, it will help you to arrange it to yourself, and you will show yourself an active listener.
- Retell. Try to repeat what the interlocutor says in his own words: "I correctly understood that", "in other words," "you think that", "you can believe," "it means that it turns out that", "you can agree that."
- Develop and continue the thoughts of the interlocutor. Try to determine the real meaning of his words, reciting the hidden subtext of his phrases aloud.
- Try to speak to your interlocutor and tell how you understood his state of mind. This can be done using the following phrases:
"I understand what you are feeling right now," "I get the impression that", "you are deeply concerned about this", "you are probably very worried". - Empathize and try to miss the feelings of the interlocutor through yourself. You can express this with words such as: "I understand you perfectly," "just like you, I'm sure that," "in your place, I would experience the same emotions," "I understand what you feel ".
- Summarize the outcome of your conversation. At the end of the conversation, try to make a kind of summary of the main points of the above. Use the phrases: "we came to the conclusion that", "I can say what happens," "if you combine all that you said, it turns out that", "in general, you said that."