Communication skills · lesson 11 of 24 · free

Listening with empathy — Communication skills for students

Empathy means understanding how someone else feels — imagining yourself in their place. When a friend says “Nobody sat with me at lunch,” they probably feel left out; when the school trip gets cancelled, they feel disappointed. An empathetic reply notices the feeling: “That sounds really hard. Do you want to talk?” A dismissive reply brushes it away: “Stop crying, it’s nothing.” Often a friend first needs to feel heard — listen before you give advice.

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Communication tip

Feel with, not fix at — “imagine how they feel before you reply”

  1. Name the feeling: “I finally learned to swim!” → proud; “My cat has been missing since morning.” → worried; “They made a group chat without me.” → left out; “I missed the prize by one mark.” → disappointed.
  2. Empathetic replies: “I’d be upset too. I’m here for you.”, “Oh no, your cat is missing? Shall we look together?”
  3. Dismissive replies: “So what? Get over it.”, “At least it’s not as bad as my problem.”, “Hmm. Anyway, guess what I bought!”

Use it for: Friends who are sad or upset, new students, younger siblings, and family members who are worried.

Worked example: 💗 Your friend says: “The school trip got cancelled.” How does your friend probably feel? → disappointed

  1. Something your friend was looking forward to is not happening.
  2. So your friend probably feels disappointed.

Check: Try it: when someone shares a problem this week, name their feeling (“That sounds…”) before you say anything else ✓

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✏️ Practice

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🏁 Lesson 11 test

20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.

🏅 Sign in with Google to earn the 💗 Empathy Ear badge when you pass — and a certificate when you finish all 6 lessons of Part 2 · Listening. You can still take the test without signing in.

🖨️ Empathy and Feelings Worksheet for Kids

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