2020-01-03

What I like a lot about Empathy Circles. What I like most, is that I feel much better after I did an Empathy Circle. It really is very effective on me. It has a therapeutic effect.

What I like is the five minutes time to speak per turn gives us just enough time to go into the emotion, but not too deep. So you don't have time to really get too deep into things and maybe, sometimes a little more unstable for some people who are more fragile. So I like that five minutes speaking rule.

I find it very interesting the practice of active listening. I'm a psychiatrist, but even as a psychiatrist, I noticed we often think about our interpretation of what the person is saying instead of really thinking of what is the person really wanting to say. So it is actually polluting our thinking and I find it really lies and even easier, nicer for the other one and easier for us to just listen, and just try to summarize as a first very important step. So these are things I really like

What I Like about Empathy Circles - Björn Michael

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What I do very much like about the Empathy Circle is the appreciation of everything. I think that's something that Bill also meant. What I noticed and what was really important for me to learn today was how differently we all can understand each other words. It is also different when we are not native speaker, so then there's another added challenge on it, but even if you're native speakers it can be quite different how we understand the words of other people. Today it was really, really great to see how differently each of you expressed the words as an assumption of what the other person tried to say before that. So this is something I really, really enjoyed today.

What I Like about Empathy Circles - Eva Ellis

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What I like about the Empathy Circle is that I get to hear, I get to witness a conversation that I'm not in. By witnessing, I just listen because I don't have the pressure of maybe reflecting, so that's listening to people talking and processing in my mind is a big experience to carry in my personal life. I think that is a good way to practice because I witness. At the same time while witnessing, I like puzzling in my mind, what would I say, how would I reflect that? The fact that I'm getting there makes me hopeful that I am almost in the Empathy Circle.

I like the fact that my agenda here is not to continue the idea, just stay while I'm listening. I don't have to bring more opinion to the table. That's a big relief for me. My only agenda is to really listen, to really be there and to really reflect that back. As an ADHD coach, I would just assume like that would be easier, but I feel like practicing is helping and again that's a good experience to carry in one's life. I wish I could do that more, I wish all the people that I know could do that more, so my life would be easier.

What I Like about Empathy Circles - Richard Schut

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The metaphor that I have of the Empathy Circle, is like singing in a choir. If you sing in a choir you tune into each other and you get this overtone. What I experience here, is we tune into each other. Even if we speak after each other, there is something like an overtone or there is something that goes over all the voices so to say. That's what I find magic in a way by tuning in.

Also this structure that you first listen and kind of in a way you take in by that even more intense what the other is saying and then you speak out. Although we are not singing, there is some kind of overtone voice. Something that's coming out over and over everything. That is what I like.

What I Like about Empathy Circles - William Filler

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The Empathy Circle hits the sweet spot for me. It has enough structure, but it also flexible enough at the same time, that's very important.

The other part is just how it's not just all dependent upon the Empathy Circle practice but the dedication, that especially people whose language is not English as a first language. I appreciate new people coming in and being willing to go through that learning curve, which may feel a little uncomfortable. I think that's real heroism and I really appreciate it .

What I Like about Empathy Circles - Karolina Kubiak

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What I like about Empathy Circles? I like when the topic we choose is kind of circulating among us, and every person adds something new to the topic, to the issue. Sometimes there are contradictions, but somehow even if we have contradicting opinions, it grows and is changing. I see myself changing my mind and kind of developing a more comprehensive vision of the topic. I love it. I love the process.

I'm talking actually about very intellectual Empathy Circles, however sometimes we have a very emotional Empathy Circle. We also discover new emotions, new feelings that we didn't realize, and suddenly we realize and it's growing and growing. During the whole two hours I discover more and more just by circulating among us the ideas and the feelings. I love this growing effect of Empathy Circles.

What I Like about Empathy Circles - Edwin Rutsch

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We have this Empathy Tent that we take out in sometimes very stressful situations. We start off by holding an Empathy Circle with the team when we first set up our tent. I find taking part in an Empathy Circle, to be very grounding for potentially stressful environments. I think it's that quality of being heard and listening to others in an Empathy Circle that I find is very grounding. Also, after a very tense situation to have an Empathy Circle and to be heard, and to hear others, I also find it very grounding.

I think it's that grounding, relaxing quality of the Empathy Circle that I really appreciate and especially in preparation for tense situations. Before doing a conflict mediation, I like having an Empathy Circle to be heard and then a debrief afterwards. Again it is that grounding quality of empathic listening that's one of the big benefits for me.

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