Empathy involves comprehending and comprehending someone else’s words, along with their feelings and intentions, by shutting out your own voice and placing yourself in their shoes.
At times, listening can also mean refraining from offering immediate solutions; instead, try listening to their feelings behind their words and helping them find solutions on their own.
1. Listen with an open mind
Empathy involves openly listening and responding to others’ experiences and narratives, even when you don’t agree with their narratives or experiences. Everyone has different circumstances that inform their perspectives of life – for instance if someone at the coffee shop mishandles your order, try to remain calm; they could just be having an off day, or just new in their job role.
As it can be easy to be provoked when speaking to an angry Karen, it can be easy to respond with angry remarks of your own, only exacerbating the situation further. Instead, take a deep breath and listen carefully with an open mind.
Seek to understand their point of view, even if it goes against what you believe in. Doing this will allow you to gain a greater appreciation for their perspective – which will in turn strengthen your own.
Try to maintain an open body language when listening. This means not folding your arms, smiling while speaking and leaning in towards them to show interest in what they have to say. Doing this will reduce feelings of being attacked while increasing effectiveness of active listening skills.
2. Don’t judge
Empathy has become a weapon to shame those who do not possess enough. Yet this term bears little relationship to true human compassion. Active listening and empathy can be essential when dealing with angry customers, but also know when it is time to draw your own line and walk away.
When dealing with an angry Karen, it’s essential not to judge them. Karens do not perceive reality objectively – therefore it is wise not to engage them in arguments, as they will immediately use every tactic at their disposal to try and dominate you and push their views onto you.
Karens can have strong opinions against you for various reasons; your dog, clothes, friends, that tree nearby, authority figures such as government officials and taxes as well as non-Americans don’t fit their mold and are all targets of their hatred. Arguing with one is like playing chess with a pidgeon: all their pieces end up on the board at once before they strut around cockily knowing they had you completely beat! Arguing with one is like trying to win against an opponent that can dovetailed against you before walking away feeling great!
Truth be told, their feelings don’t stem from you directly; rather they reflect their reaction to being removed from their alienating parent. Empathic responding is beneficial in helping PA children deal with this change – though this requires them to leave the alienating parent, this might not always be possible due to circumstances beyond your control.
3. Be patient
Empathy requires silencing the inner dialogue in your own head and listening to what others are telling you – an undoubtedly challenging endeavor, yet one which can yield great rewards. Being an effective listener requires being patient with those trying to express their frustrations while remaining understanding.
Working with an angry Karen can be difficult. Their emotional outbursts may seem unreasonable and self-indulgent, yet there are ways of approaching them that could help defuse the tension and lead to resolutions.
As an initial step, it’s helpful for teens and their caregivers to identify the emotion that they’re feeling; this can expand their emotional vocabulary – whether that means feeling frustrated, exhausted, jealous, furious or confused.
Once you understand their emotions, reverse empathy can be an effective way of showing you understand their perspective and that their perspective matters to you.
Being an effective listener is an essential skill in life and business alike, especially since empathy-based listening allows you to build connections and make people feel valued. Through learning empathy skills you can foster more positive workplace cultures while increasing customer satisfaction levels.
4. Be kind
Anger can be an intense feeling that leads to violent responses in people, yet empathy can help defuse that anger and lead to solutions. When an angry customer approaches you for help, your first priority should be understanding their issue as fully as possible before offering solutions.
If you can reach them and establish communication, chances are it could help the client feel accepted and heard. This helps show them their anger is valid and that others share in their experience. This also shows them they’re not alone when experiencing similar emotions.
Empathy can also be used as a way of showing love to others. By empathizing with someone you care for and sharing their suffering in a comforting manner, empathy will create a bond so strong it seems miraculous.
If you are dealing with an alienated child, this is an effective way of showing them you care and that you will always be there for them. Doing this may prevent them from attempting to bait you into an argument and respond in angerful or hostile ways – this can be especially harmful when children act out without thinking first and without considering consequences later. Fear and anger fuel their reactions without them having any control over themselves; their reactions simply happen without conscious thought from anyone involved.
5. Don’t rush
People feel more at ease when their feelings are heard. Listening carefully without interrupting is key in helping people express what they’re feeling and why.
While listening is of course paramount, it’s also essential that they feel heard. One way of doing this is using “I” statements – for instance if someone is upset at you for something specific then use phrases like: “I apologize that happened” instead of using statements like: “That makes me so mad!”
When someone is upset, it can be easy to be caught up in their fury and argue back, only compounding the situation further. Instead, try relaxing and using empathic listening techniques instead.
Empathy is an instinctual human trait. It’s the ability to share in other’s feelings – like when watching someone walk a tightrope over Niagara Falls or when nervous before an important performance.
Empathy requires being open to discussing issues of privilege–like when someone becomes frustrated about being unable to afford an expensive car or because their employer doesn’t pay enough. You can help other people practice empathy by reminding them they’re doing good things even if it may not seem that way.
6. Be honest
Empathy and honesty can be extremely helpful for individuals in situations in which someone else has provoked their own anger, as being open can break the cycle of apathy which has rendered them powerless to control or voice what they feel; while sharing how one feels helps another person feel validated and understood.
Some women named Karen have experienced disturbing incidents where basic civility seems to have been abandoned due to being named Karen. One 67-year-old grandmother gave her name at a drive-thru window of a fast food restaurant and staff teased her about being named Karen despite the fact she did nothing to provoke such behavior.
Dehumanizing treatments like this one can create feelings of helplessness and isolation among senior citizens whose name is Karen. Speaking out in public or privately to friends or loved ones who bear this name can help to break this spell and restore dignity to people named Karen.
