Friday, June 13, 2008
Interpersonal Communication Competence
Have you ever had a conversation where you wanted to simply vent your feelings? Girls know what I am talking about. It doesn’t matter how irrational or illogical you feel in emotions, you just simply want to have someone to talk to and let it all out. Empathy is critical in these moments. It is defined as the ability to show you understand the situation and you share emotional reactions. By showing empathy, you suspend your own attitude, judgments, and values on the conversation and letting perspective take place. Empathetic people are crucial in relationships because they can be a great listener and not be judgmental or harsh, no matter if they agree or disagree.
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2 comments:
I totally agree. Empathy is a vital ability for your friends, partners, etc. to bring to the table in your relationships with them. Without empathy your relationships would feel pretty empty and alone, because you wouldn't feel like anyone understand what you were going through. That is a terrible feeling. Life can be rough sometimes, but a lot of what makes it endurable is knowing that other people have experienced and/or understand what you are going through. Like the book says, it's not that we, girls, want our friends to feel sorry for us (sympathy), we just want understanding. (:
I totally agree with you! I actually just did that yesterday with my two female co-workers. I was having a bad day and I needed someone to vent with and give me support and they were there for me. Even though they had never been through what I was going through that day, they where able to give me an open ear which made my day that much better. I really feel that empathy is an important function in life. It is a valuable communication function that helps people keep a strait head.
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