Empathy: 5 most important characteristics
Empathy: 5 most important characteristics
What are the characteristics of empathy?
Empathy is the ability to relate to what the other is feeling or thinking, to share their feelings and emotions. It is a healthy way to establish relationships with others, constructive and enriching relationships.
It is therefore a very relevant social value in family, school and professional relationships. For this reason, five important characteristics of empathy are illustrated below.
1. Listening
Knowing how to listen is a fundamental characteristic of empathy. Empathetic people establish rewarding and constructive relationships since they are always ready to listen to each other and are good interlocutors. Listening is important because it presents itself as the only way to understand what the other is feeling.
2. Understanding
Empathy also involves the ability to understand the feelings, emotions and ideas of the other person; not only what the other is capable of expressing verbally, but also everything he manifests through his actions, behavior and decision-making.
An empathetic person is one who is able to understand the other, to the point of being able to feel what they are feeling.
Empathy allows the suffering person to feel understood. So understanding and comforting someone in difficult times is an empathic attitude.
3. Identify with the other
Being empathetic also means being able to put yourself in the other's shoes, to understand in a deep and sincere way what he thinks, believes, feels; what worries him, makes him suffer or rejoice.
Thus, an empathetic person can put themselves in the emotional situation of the other and deeply understand their feelings, worries or beliefs.
This becomes evident, for example, when someone tries to show the other the different solutions to a problem by remembering that similar situations have happened with them in the past as well.
4. Be united
An empathetic person is very sensitive to what other people feel or suffer. This leads him to develop a certain solidarity with the suffering or the needy.
The desire to help others, especially when they are going through a difficult situation, to create bonds of solidarity with those we want to help. An example of this is helping a friend who is going through a difficult time.
5. Respect
Being empathetic, involved also respecting the other in his feelings, his ideas, his behavior, his decision-making and, in short, in his way of being and of facing life, even if one is not Okay. with him
For this reason, empathy is a fundamental value for living in society, because it allows to understand others and to be in solidarity with them, to respect the way in which they express their ideas, their feelings and their concerns.
So, we empathize with someone when we listen to them, understand them, respect them, put themselves in their shoes and support them in these problems.