How can you use empathy to build stronger connections when networking?

Empathy is something when a person can understand or relate to another person’s emotions or feelings. It’s important for networking to able to connect with another person, understand the impact of it and have a great conversation.

Empathy is understanding the feelings and sensory experiences of others. One of the goals of networking is to achieve the desired result by using the strength and abilities of all team members together. If there is no empathy between team members, reaching the final goal will face many challenges. Pride, selfishness, self-conceit and false self-confidence are serious threats to empathy between team members.

✔Empathy ✔ The ability to understand and share the feelings of others. 🎯 Two type of Empathy:- 🔹Cognitive Empathy: Being aware and considerate of others own feelings and thoughts 🔹Affective Empathy: Sharing others feelings, even if you have not experienced the same situation yourself. 🎯 Why is Empathy an Important Component in building your network?. It allows you to: 🔹 Show rapport 🔹 Be more compassionate 🔹 Effective Communications 🔹 Building strong relationships 🔹 Express genuine feelings to others 🎯 Tips & Tricks to develop Empathy; 🔹 Be supportive 🔹 Ask questions 🔹 Pay attention to other 🔹 Validate their emotions 🔹 Try to see things from their perspective

Empathy is the key to build an immediate relationship and rapport. Relating to our own interests ,experiences, even the weather starts an open conversation. It relaxes the prospect and then the information that's needed just flows in conversation rather than a robotic list of questions being asked. When the prospect is comfortable talking and sharing you will get the information you are after and don't forget to jump on any signs for a soft close - not immediately - make a mental note and refer back to what was said. Empathy is a skill NOT to be wasted!

Empathy starts by giving a bit of your time to someone in need, by listening to their problems or their point of view. I have found it helpful by simply letting them explain their problems and by sharing your own experience of going through a similar situation. Sometimes it just needs a few words to make a person believe themselves to thrive in a situation and make them smile!

🎯 To excel in empathy you must: 🔹 Be honest 🔹 Be trustworthy 🔹 Show real interest 🔹 Actively listen to others 🔹 Communicate effectively 🎯Points to check during virtual networking: 🔹 Know the tech 🔹 Practice the tech 🔹 Use video conferencing 🔹 Ask open-ended questions 🔹 Keep the conversions active

One simple step I take is to ensure my video is always on for any important conversations where emotions can be a factor. It is vital to showing your empathy, as our faces express much more emotion than simple verbal communication.

Being flexible is important. My first objective is to take the conversation offline rather than engaging within the thread of a post - although the latter is often the most appropriate. I always avail myself of as much information as a person feels comfortable providing so that I can better understand how I can be of help, for me, that usually means a CV review along with some useful feedback. Confidentiality is a primary concern, so I assure the people I am working with that their data is safe with me, or I use the many years of experience I have to assure a person if possible. It is important to me that a person feels fully comfortable working with me - I don't do the hard sell and leave it up to an individual to decide if and when.

Empathy is a powerful tool in building stronger connections during networking. Here are some ways to incorporate empathy into your networking approach: 1. **Active Listening:** Pay close attention to what others are saying, and respond thoughtfully. Show genuine interest in their experiences and perspectives. 2. **Put Yourself in Their Shoes:** Try to understand the challenges, goals, and emotions of the person you're networking with. This understanding allows you to connect on a deeper level. 3. **Ask Open-Ended Questions:** Encourage others to share their thoughts and feelings by asking questions that go beyond simple yes or no answers. This opens the door for more meaningful conversations.

Networking in person is a great opportunity to show genuine emotions and empathy. It starts from a strong handshake, eye contact, active listening, tone of voice, gesture, etc... Be real in your interest and feelings Be real in respecting others thoughts Be real in your understanding to others need Be real in your communication and interactions

In business, I have worked with individuals who, to them, best practice was finding out their business needs first and fill those needs. That felt a little too pragmatic to me, I didn't like it. The saying goes that 'people do business with people', but knowing a person goes way beyond knowing how my services or available products will help. A person wants to know more about you as a person rather than a business before they decide to work with you.

Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Empathy when networking in person is actually pretty simple... ask the other person questions about themself, their passions, their work and their goals. Don't just wait for them to stop talking to start talking about yourself. Truly try to get to know that person and they will inherently be intrigued to learn more about you back.

An important quote to add is “Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins. And it’s up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.” Barack Obama.

This can be a challenge. I guess we must first acknowledge that this is a very real possibility. We all like to think we don't have prejudices and we don't judge others, but we are the sum of our experiences. Acknowledgement that we personally may be subject to this problem is the first step. Then we can work on it. A quote I like about prejudice is 'it is hard to hate an individual', and usually, even if we have strong feelings about a particular group, mindset or attitude, it is up to us to address that and the best way of doing it is by going out of your comfort zone and engaging with people who don't necessarily share your traits.

I agree! To move past these obstacles, it is important to be self-reflective, humble, and open-minded. Acceptance and being an active listener with no judgement is essential. Listen more, talk less. Networking to build relationships takes time. Be willing to spend time asking questions. Technology can help and hinder. If it becomes a barrier with no way to reveal non-verbal cues, include in-person and phone calls in your making connections.

Empathy is an integral component of Emotional intelligence (EQ) and many tools measures it. 🔹 Wong's Emotional Intelligence Scale (WEIS) 🔹 Emotional and Social Competence Inventory (ESCI) 🔹 Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) 🔹 The Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0 (EQ-i-2.0) 🔹 The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) As well as, Practicing Empathy with your network. In addition, seeking feedback from your network and mentors or coaches.

The best kind of feedback is rare - it is when someone reaches out with a positive comment, or engages with you on one of your posts, or sends a private message saying 'you helped me with [whatever I did]' I think that kind of feedback is a true measure of a person's empathy, knowing you were instrumental in making even a small improvement to someone's life is networking gold. That is a two-way street, if someone has helped me, I want others to know about it because I understand just how valuable that is.