Why Developing Empathy is important?

Humans have a sophisticated capacity for empathy because of our huge working memory and well-developed neocortex. It is the result of the mirror neurons in our brain that lets the human fundamentally alter the understanding of empathy. Since then, the neuroscientists have identified such behavior as the “empathy circuit” in our brains. If by any chance this circuit gets damaged, our ability to understanding the feelings of other people can curtail.

Did this all go over your head? We totally feel you. Science has its own way of explaining simple things in a complex manner, so we have tried to simplify it for you.

Empathy is not about “you either have it, or you don’t”unless you’ve experienced some traumatic experience that shook off your mind and took away your ability to be empathetic.

Empathy Is Important In Your Personal Life

#1. The more open you are about your own emotions, the more easily will you be able to attune to the emotions and feelings of others and especially your partner. Empathy lets you peek into your partner’s heart and understand their feelings without them saying much.

#2. We can often tell a lot about people by just watching their body language or non-verbal cues. An empathetic person will be able to observe the facial expressions, hand motions, gestures and tone of voice of their partners and analyze if there is something unusual about it.

#3. It’s more important to understand the unsaid than the things that have been put into words. Studies suggest that partners who can decipher each other’s’ nonverbal messages are more likely to sustain their relationships.

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Empathy Is Important At Work

Empathy is not only important on a personal level but in your workplace too. It’s important for both the leaders and the team members. Studies suggest that a correlation between empathy and sales, high performance of managers, and improved performance of other team members. Studies also revealed that empathy helps in improving leadership abilities and facilitates effective communication.

It’s been proven that empathy plays a significant role in stimulating the effectiveness of relationships. Here’s a list of how empathy can help you at your workplace.

#1. Better Understanding

If you are able to empathize with your co-workers, you’ll be able to understand them better, hence developing a better relationship. For a team leader or a manager, empathy could be his/her winning streak. They’ll be able to understand their team members and address their problems in a better manner.

#2. Better Communication

If your co-workers are aware of your empathetic attitude, they’ll be able to communicate with you without the uncertainty. They’ll be able to express themselves and you too will be able to read between the lines. You’ll be able to see the perceptions on which your employees are feeding clearly.

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How To Develop Empathy?

Empathy is a quality that can be learned. Here’s how you can develop empathy:

#1. Be A Good Listener

There is no denying that for some just listening could be a major challenge. Sometimes we only intend on giving our own opinions instead of listening to others. But to gain empathy, it is very important for you to start listening to what other feels; because that’s the only way you can get an insight into their minds and hearts.

#2. Be Fully Present And Available

Being fully present implies being available and present to the people you are, which obviously excludes your friend that you were chatting with on WhatsApp. Keep your phone at a distance, stay away from checking any emails, do not accept any calls while you interact with the people present in the room. By being fully available to people, you can even tune into some nonverbal communications with them.

#3. Smile Cause It Costs Nothing

Smiles are seriously contagious. Cingulate cortex is the part of your brain which is responsible for bringing a smile to your face, which is an unconscious and involuntary response area. Because smiling releases the ‘feel good’ chemicals in the brain, it activates the reward centers and improves our health.

Passing a smile to anyone and everyone will help you connect with them instantly.

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Originally Published By: AskOpinion.com