Articles Read: "Why Empathy is Important for Design", and "Can you Teach People to have Empathy?"
- I come from a teaching background, and I primarily taught in schools in which a decent portion of my students had been through some serious trauma. Empathy allowed me to place myself in the perspective of these students who were dealing with home life issues, and might not consider school to be their number one priority on any given day. By empathizing with them, imagining myself growing up with their circumstance, I was able to connect and build steady, stable relationships. I demonstated to my students that I was always on their side - even when they weren't prioritizing the things I wanted them to.
- Empathy allows designers to see past their preconceived notions of what their users might want, and instead engage with the reality their users experience. This means that they might realize the necessity of a feature that the designers might not have even considered, or to better understand the ways in which the product could benefit the user.
- Empathy allows people to communicate more effectively, and to understand the actual context of the situation. Without empathy, You only see your perspective, but if you can see the other individual's POV, it becomes easier to untangle a conflict. Empathetic listening strengthens relationships by demonstrating the value you place on that other person.
4. Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
- I had some beef with a counselor at the school I taught at. I found this individual to be difficult to work with, and so I elected to avoid them as often as I could. There came a time when a student brought a possible suicide attempt to my attention after school. No one else was around, and I had the counselor's number in my phone, so I followed protocal and gave them a call. We both empathized with this student, and in turn with each other, undstanding that we had put things aside for student, and it helped us get the student the help they needed. It didn't turn us into best friends by any means, but it did bring us a touch closer.
5. When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
- I find it difficult to be empathetic with "repeat offenders". For example, someone I used to work for would routinely talk down to his employees, be dismissive, or agressive and rude. I can understand making mistakes - I do it all the time. It's hard for me to empathize with someone with paterns of difficulty, but I always try to remember that they are just trying to put food on the table for their family too. I try to imagine them outside of work, and remember the times that I have also been rude, or dismissive, or angry so that I can try to cut through my initial reaction to their behavior.