The 15 advantages of being an empathetic person

Putting yourself in someone else's shoes is a clear definition of empathy. This ability to be empathetic is an aspect that can be developed, like any other skill. social, but in the same way it can be practically canceled if it is not promoted properly, especially in the kids.

And it is that being an empathic person has many advantages. For this reason, it is important to understand what empathy means, and to develop it continuously and in all areas of our life, to live it naturally and spontaneously.

• Related article: "Empathy: meaning and characteristics of this social skill"

Being an empathetic person will bring you many advantages for your life

Since childhood, the human being has traits of empathy. However, it is a virtue that must be fostered and lived consciously, especially in adult life. This is because, at the same time, children will develop empathy through the example of their parents.

Having the ability to understand the situation, feelings, circumstances and actions of the other is what defines empathy. Being an empathetic person puts you at an advantage over people who are not,

here are the reasons why empathy is an attitude that should be developed.

• Maybe you are interested in: "The 16 different personality types and their description"

1. Know how to listen

Empathic people know how to listen beyond words. That is, they have the ability to understand the emotions and concerns of their interlocutor during a conversation.

This feature, known in the world of psychology as 'active listening', has many benefits in personal and work life by having the ability to understand the contexts and concerns of each person. In addition, the skill of active listening makes us be perceived as attentive and profound people, who genuinely value the interlocutor.

2. Leadership

Being an empathetic person is a quality that helps develop leadership. As they are people who manage to connect with other people, they have the advantage of generating loyalty in others and thanks to this they can manage groups more effectively.

Whether it is to develop this skill at work, or in a social way, it becomes a great advantage of empathic people, who tend to be democratic leaders in their spheres of influence.

3. Objectivity

Objectivity is one of the advantages that develop in people with empathy. This is because they have the openness to listen to all people, and although they manage to understand their reasons and motivations, they also have as a reference the point of view of other people. This helps foster critical and objective thinking.

4. I respect

Empathic people are usually very respectful. Over time, along with empathy, a deep and genuine respect for people, their situations and their problems develops. This, in turn, makes them people who inspire respect in others. In this way, your work and personal relationships are kept out of unnecessary conflicts.

5. Problem resolution

When people know how to listen, they have tools for conflict resolution. This is an advantage of empathic people, especially in the workplace. When people are able to understand the problems and circumstances of others, it is easier for them to find solutions that benefit everyone.

6. Strong personal relationships

Empathic people have a facility for maintaining friendships and relationships in general over time. This is a personal advantage. They tend to have very long-lasting friends and in their Couple relationships It is easy to quickly build a strong bond, as the other person feels understood and welcomed without judgment.

7. Diplomacy

An advantage of empathic people is that they know how to be diplomatic to deliver bad news. It is easier for them to find the correct ways and words to deliver unpleasant or difficult messages. By having the ability to understand what hurts people, they find ways to say what needs to be said, minimizing the negative impact.

8. They understand non-verbal communication

Empathy allows us to understand the reasons of the other, not only through words. That is, the ability to understand people does not come only from the willingness that empathic people have to listen, their Empathy allows them to perceive and interpret the verbal communication of other individuals, and thanks to this reach an understanding higher.

9. Emotional attunement

Emotional attunement is an advantage that empathic people easily develop. Being able to connect with people on an emotional level is a quality of great help for the work and personal world. Having the ability to understand people allows you to connect emotionally and thereby achieve a close relationship for the benefit of both parties.

10. Social conscience

When a person is empathetic, social problems are also usually of interest to them. Beyond their own environment, they have the ability to observe, understand and care about the situations experienced by other sectors of society. For this reason they are usually people busy with some social, ecological or animal care cause.

11. Ease of detecting fraud and deception

A great advantage of empathic people is that they are perceptive to lies. Have developed the ability to understand people without necessarily becoming emotionally "enrolled" it also makes it easier for them to perceive when someone is not being honest or hiding information.

12. Healthy labor relations

In the workplace, being an empath has many advantages. Personal relationships have a tendency to become conflictual, especially in such a competitive environment as a company is in our time.

However, an empathetic attitude always makes these situations more bearable. For this reason, empathic people tend to have better work relationships, because before entering or generating conflict they understand the reasons of others.

13. They develop emotional intelligence

Empathy allows you to develop emotional intelligence. A correct management of emotions begins with empathy. Understanding the range of emotions and the reactions that people provoke is a characteristic of the empathic people, from that trait it is much easier to achieve high emotional intelligence.

• Read this article by psychologist Bertrand Regader: "What is emotional intelligence?"

14. They are authentic people

Empathic people are not only empathetic with others, but also with themselves. For this reason it is said that they are honest and authentic people, because they do not lie to themselves. They have the ability to understand their own needs, and in general terms they look for ways to satisfy them, but at the same time without hurting others.

15. They make others feel good

Feeling heard and understood, making people feel good. This is an advantage that empathic people have in their personal relationships. If your profession is also related to dealing directly with people, it undoubtedly becomes a work advantage.

Bibliographic references

• Batson, C.D. (2009). These things called empathy: Eight related but distinct phenomena. In J. Decety and W. Ickes (Eds.), The Social Neuroscience of Empathy (pp. 3–15). Cambridge: MIT Press.
• Gallese, Vittorio. (2003). "The Roots of Empathy: The Shared Manifold Hypothesis and the Neural Basis of Intersubjectivity." Psychopathology.
• Hodges, S.D., & Klein, K.J. (2001). Regulating the costs of empathy: the price of being human. Journal of Socio-Economics.