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RSA Shorts - The Power of Empathy

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    So what is empathy?
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    And why is it very
    different than sympathy?
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    Empathy fuels connection.
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    Sympathy drives disconnection.
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    Empathy--it's very interesting,
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    Teresa Wiseman is a nursing
    scholar who studied professions,
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    very diverse professions
    where empathy is relevant,
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    and came up with four
    qualities of empathy.
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    Perspective taking--
    the ability to take the perspective
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    of another person or recognize
    their perspective is their truth.
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    Staying out of judgement.
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    Not easy, when you enjoy it
    as much as most of us do.
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    Recognizing emotion in other people,
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    and then communicating that.
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    Empathy is feeling with people.
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    And to me I always think of empathy
    as this kind of sacred space
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    when someone's kind of in a deep hole,
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    and they shout out from the bottom
    and they say,
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    "I'm stuck. It's dark. I'm overwhelmed."
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    And then we look and we say,
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    "Hey." Climb down.
    "I know what it's like down here."
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    "And you're not alone."
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    Sympathy is, "Ooh. It's bad. Uh-huh."
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    "Uh, no. You want a sandwich?"
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    Empathy is a choice and
    it's a vulnerable choice
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    because in order to connect with you,
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    I have to connect with something in myself
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    that knows that feeling.
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    Rarely, if ever, does an empathic
    response begin with, "at least."
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    [Laughter]
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    And we do it all the time!
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    Because you know what,
    someone just shared something with us
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    that's incredibly painful and
    we're trying to silver-lining it.
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    I don't think that's a verb,
    but I'm using it as one.
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    We're trying to put the
    silver lining around it.
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    So, "I had a miscarriage."
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    "Oh, at least you know you
    can get pregnant."
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    "I think my marriage is falling apart."
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    "At least you have a marriage."
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    [Laughter]
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    "John's getting kicked out of school."
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    "At least Sarah is an A student."
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    But one of the things we do sometimes
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    in the face of very
    difficult conversations,
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    is we try to make things better.
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    If I share something with
    you that's very difficult,
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    I'd rather you say,
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    "Uff. I don't even know what to say
    right now, I'm just so glad you told me."
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    Because the truth is, rarely can a
    response make something better.
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    What makes something better is connection.
Title:
RSA Shorts - The Power of Empathy
Description:

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Video Language:
English
Duration:
02:54

English subtitles

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