Analysis Of Like Charity, Empathy Starts At Home By Alec Bruce

This is an article written by Alec Bruce, entitled “Like Charity, Empathy Starts at Home”. Bruce is an experienced and award-winning writer, editor and communications consultant. He writes in this article about the declining of empathy levels nowadays and that it should be reinstated in young peoples’ minds. While developing empathy, that is to say, understanding of others, you will find that you will be more respected and listened to with more attention, therefore give a better and positive influence, especially in the career. In his article, the author mainly talks about how empathy is given increasingly less consideration, and he believes that if empathy was took in better consideration, people would be in a better environment. …show more content…
Have empathy is to first understand the reasons why a person with whom you are talking to act in a certain way or to have such reactions, even before you were make a judgment. If a person makes a decision, it is because he is convinced that its choice is the best, and if not, they would seek another alternative. So before a person does an opinion on a behavior or an action, he has to make sure to understand their reasons. This is why Bruce believes that empathy is a must, and to have influence, you need to understand others by showing empathy. Bruce also mentioned that empathy has many advantages if it were given the attention it deserves. Empathy builds trust: we trust what we know, the people that we understand. Even in politics, empathy allows a better communication by avoiding conflicts. At work, empathizing with respect to the employees develops their motivation. Whether you are a seller, officer or simply a parent, the more you are able to influence others, the more you get what you want. Now, to have influence over others, that is to say to get them to act on your ideas, your …show more content…
Individuals tend to filter the data they receive through their own paradigms, reading their autobiography in the lives of others, or planning their own views on the behavior of other people. According to Covey, from Using Empathic Listening to Collaborate , “when another person speaks, we're usually "listening" at one of four levels. We may be ignoring another person […], we may practice pretending. […], we may practice selective listening […], or we may even practice attentive listening […], but very few of us ever practice the fifth level, the highest form of listening, empathic listening.” (Covey). Empathic listening is listening in order to understand the other frame of reference and anyone's feelings. You have to listen with your ears, your eyes and your heart. Finally, the greatest need of the human being is to understand, to be confirmed, validate, and to be