Building strong relationships with customers, partners, employees, clients, vendors and co-workers is key to any successful business.
In this section I’ll provide tips and advice on how to develop empathy by understanding others.
STEP 1: Understand Yourself
In order to truly understand others, you must first know yourself. This doesn't mean getting down to the nitty gritty about your strengths and weaknesses, but it does mean identifying what you find important and what motivates you.
Your unique combination of values, beliefs and personality traits give you your own style and sense of purpose. By defining these qualities, you'll be able to better understand others.
STEP 2: Observe & Interact
As a result of understanding yourself, you can begin observing your environment and interacting with the people around you.
Learn from the good and the bad, and look for patterns.
Make sure you’re in a position where you can actually observe these interactions; don't be shy about asking questions, and be open-minded. Try to empathize with the other person, and let them talk without interrupting.
Be open to new experiences and viewpoints.
STEP 3: Reflect & Communicate
After you've spent time observing and interacting with others, now's the time to reflect. It's a good idea to write down what you've learned.
Use this information to improve your personal and professional relationships. This might involve changing your perspective or improving communication with others.
STEP 4: Repeat
Repeat steps 1 to 3 until you feel comfortable being able to identify other people's unique qualities. The goal is to understand why people think and behave the way they do, so be patient and try to avoid judgement.
Very good