Suzzanne

Intention:

I would like to get some inspiration on how you can train empathy and learn more about how you can make people passionate about the topic.

Thomas interviews Susanne

What was your experience of the Empathy Circle?

Listening was easier

I found the listening easier than the talking

I already empathised with Iris - adjusted it so that Iris can understand.

wondered if I am talking too long. Did I lose her somewhere on the way?

What areas worked well and why?

listening part worked well

Why?

I had no experience talking but experience with listening because I did a lot of interviews.

I have done a lot of interviews.

if felt strange, I felt it was cruel that Iris had to summarize my messy thoughts.

Cruel to Iris because she had to listen to my messy thoughts

Maybe I didn’t or couldn’t express myself clearly.

talked about university time and she may not have a lot of experience with that. I am talking about something that might seem weird if your do not have a lot of knowledge about it.

I thought how to say things easier .

I used more empathy to talk than to listen - at least in this kind of exercise.


What did do you wish was different?

it would have helped it there were questions.

if she would have asked me questions. I missed the questions

why is it hard for you to speak freely?

I’m inflicting the task of reflecting that on someone

Just speaking is not the problem.

Where do you imagine using this method in your work or private life?

I think in my work life since I do interviews, about their needs, and products and it can be helpful.

just

Did you miss visualization in this process?

no

Why?

I am not the most visual Person on this planet.

Thomas Interviewee Name: Susanne

Insight: Speaking was harder than listening. Susanne felt it was cruel that Iris had to summarize her “messy thoughts”. She to empathised for Iris while she was talking.

Feelings

    • strained,

    • feeling a bit lost in conversation,

    • less experienced in speaking than listening,

    • guilty

Needs

    • guided interview,

    • clear structure,

    • effective speaking,

  • time for preparation.

Brainstorms

start with saying the exact same thing with same intonation as the other person as first exercise

forbid people to use the word ‘I’ when doing the exercise

let them start with paraphrasing short passages

meditation - learning not to think about anything at all

exercising to talk about something without any judgements

exercising to distinguish between what someone says and what we interpret into that

Step-by-Step Empathetic Listening Curriculum starting for 5 Minutes everyday (incl. Reminder App)

@Work @Family @Home @Friends > Practice everywhere

Feedback

I Like… taking time to connect with my colleagues in a way you usually don’t in everyday work life

Wish… that we could apply the method in our company in some way and benefit from it

What if…we found a way to include active listening in our challenge - even if we work visually.