Chapter 3
EMPATHY
Developing skills that are uniquely ‘human’ such as active listening, caring and nurturing are key for the world of the future. Empathy – that is, the ability to understand and be aware of, co-experience the feelings and thoughts of other people – is probably one of the most important skills you can have. It is essential for enhancing our interpersonal relationships, overall life satisfaction and improving our ability to respond well to challenges. But what is empathy exactly? This word originally was coined from the German einfuehlungsvermogen drawing on the Greek ‘em’ for ‘in’ and ‘pathos’ for ‘feeling’.
Literally translated, this means being able to feel what another person is feeling. Empathy is the ability to imagine ...
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