Are you listening with empathy?

The expression may impel one to think about the interconnection between ‘listening’ and ‘empathy’.

A facet of our current era is the widening experience of being time-starved. There is an overpowering predominance of self-obsession, bustle and indifference. Values like compassion, benevolence, sympathy, empathy, etc. are diminishing. Consequently, our communication process has gone awry, especially the process of ‘Empathetic listening’.

This expression may impel one to think about the interconnection between ‘listening’ and ‘empathy’. To elucidate, emphasis must be laid on two fundamental assertions- ‘Seek first to understand’ and ‘Seek first to be understood’.

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Most people crave to be understood than to understand others. Hence, they listen to others only to reply or to turn a conversation into an erudite discussion. At that very moment, their thoughts are infused with their principles, interest and righteousness. We never really try to understand other people’s thoughts, feelings and emotions. Most experts agree that 70 to 90 per cent of all communication is non-verbal.

Therefore, it will not be an embellishment to say that we should listen not only with our ears but also with our eyes and heart. Here is the true essence of ‘Empathetic Listening’ which entails much more than just recording, reflecting or even understanding the words that are said.

Now if we think of a profession in which the practice of ‘Empathetic Listening’ is indispensable, it is the ‘Teaching Profession’- the noblest of all professions. It is like getting to know the eager, thriving minds better by listening to their hearts, to see the world the way they see them, to understand their justifications and thus to understand their earnest feelings.

How endearing it would be to be a part of a classroom where everyone respects and strives to understand each other’s feelings by listening with empathy. The healing power of empathy and mindful listening can’t be brushed aside. It should be extensively practiced in all areas of our life.

Gitanjali Sinha Roy
DPS Nacharam

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