From the course: Empathy Tips for HR Professionals

Unlock this course with a free trial

Join today to access over 22,600 courses taught by industry experts.

Recognize coworkers’ perspectives

Recognize coworkers’ perspectives

From the course: Empathy Tips for HR Professionals

Start my 1-month free trial Buy for my team

Recognize coworkers’ perspectives

“

- Cognitive, or thinking, empathy is the first of empathy's three key components. We think about someone else's point of view and try and understand it. It's the first step to connecting with them more deeply. Here's an exercise to use to discover more about another person, so you can start to understand and connect with how they think. Pick a colleague or teammate who you don't know well. Choose a friendly setting, like a lunchtime, but when others aren't around so you can both feel comfortable speaking freely. Introduce discussion about favorite TV shows, or sports teams, or fashion. Guide the conversation to discuss other favorites. Ask what their favorite animal is, that if they could be any animal, what would they choose and why? Or else, if they were to choose a personal theme song, what would that be and why? Don't forget to share your animal or song, so they don't feel exposed. The key is why. Most people…

Contents