The Power of Empathy and Listening Skills

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Get a Clue and Take Judgment Out of Your Game

December 23, 2024
Communication Skills, Conflict Resolution, Emotional Intelligence

Blog Post

By Heather Henry

December 23, 2024
Communication Skills, Conflict Resolution, Emotional Intelligence

Get a Clue and Take Judgment Out of Your Game

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A few years ago, I found myself in the “hot seat” as a contestant on the game show 100K Pyramid, hosted by Michael Strahan. After it aired, I had so many people telling me what clues I should have given, what I should have done differently, and how I could have been better at the game. 

Perspective is everything. When we are in the moment or the “hot seat,” our emotions can take power over us, and sometimes it’s easier to make mistakes. Add a live audience and some bright, hot lights, and that makes you even more nervous. I have media trained people for years, but when you are on a national game show with millions of people watching, it’s easy to forget even your own tips. 

Everyone thinks they can play the game better than you until they have to sit in that winner’s circle. 

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Taking a Step Back: Using Empathy and Listening Skills

Have you ever found yourself easily judging your colleagues, your boss, or even your friends and family without knowing all of the information? When we do this without asking questions or truly understanding the entire situation, we create conflict in our minds. When we verbalize our feelings because we are so sure we are right, we risk hurting others without knowing all of the details.

Try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes (or hot seat) before judging them or coming to the conclusion that you could have done better. You have no idea what you would have said at that exact moment.  Be curious. Ask questions. Collaborate on a project that went wrong and figure out how you can do a better job together to learn from a deeper understanding of past mistakes.

Sometimes, we have more questions than answers, and that’s not failure – that’s curiosity that helps us grow and makes us successful. It’s OK to make mistakes, and having more empathy and using our listening skills for those who do will allow you to win more rounds of the game of life. 

Supporting Others

Side note: I may have only won $5,000 on that game show, but I made friends that I’ll have for a lifetime because all of the contestants supported each other through the process. When you have a more positive team environment using empathy and listening skills, you’ve already won the game.

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Communication Skills, Conflict Resolution, Emotional Intelligence

Author

Heather Henry

Heather Henry is a communications professional and certified emotional intelligence coach with more than 20 years of experience in various fields, such as media relations, marketing, business development, TV production, and coaching. Her career began in entertainment television as an intern at Late Show with David Letterman. Since that time, she has worked for several businesses, healthcare companies, and advertising agencies and has a background in television news. She has developed communications plans for corporate clients, nonprofit groups, and national organizations. In addition, she has won national awards for her public relations and outreach work.

She is happiest when helping clients build their businesses through training and helping them overcome obstacles that ultimately achieve business goals and objectives. In addition, she has a passion for emotional intelligence coaching and speaking to companies about how to best tell the story that reflects their brand.

Outside of the office, Heather enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends, drinking a nice glass of wine on the beach with her mom, podcasting with her sister, and sailing with her soulmate. Heather is a pop culture and TV junkie, and you can often find her eating Pringles and watching well-scripted TV on the couch with her best furry friend, Mr. Fletcher the bernedoodle.

Connect with Heather on LinkedIn and at Preptalk.coach.

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