How to Show Empathy in a Conflict

One of the most common pieced of advice given on how to resolve a conflict is to empathise with the other person: to try and see their perspective. It is often easier said than done. Being able to empathise with others is a skill to develop.

To begin developing empathy, one thing we can first do is harness our ability to understand emotions. Try reflecting on your own feelings at the moment. Compare your feelings of calm to how you feel when someone has hurt you. Imagine he various emotions that can run through your mind. Being able to reflect on our own emotional state can allow us to better understand emotions as a whole, and therefore be able to see how someone else may feel in a given conflict situation. Developing this ability takes time. Take being mindful of emotions one day at a time and soon you will have mastered this skill.

Another was to show empathy is to listen to the other person. To be able to empathise with someone, you must be able to understand his or her situation. Listening actively is the best way to do so. Give people the time to finish and formulate their sentences and do not rush through conversations. This allows people to feel at ease and be able to divulge their feelings in a judgement-free zone, as they do not feel pressured. Practice allowing for natural pauses and silences in conversation rather than simply filling up silence. Try reformulating statements to emphasize them and ask open-ended questions. Tis will allow you to better gage situations at hand.

With these two skills, you will have the tools to be an expert empathiser, something that will help you greatly in conflict resolution. For more help in that domain, be sure to check out our mediation services as well.