Listening with Empathy

This session is the third of five introductory sessions for a Small Group. Members are encouraged to explore how to listen with empathy, including how their past experiences influence their listening styles.

Member Preparation

In preparation for this session, take some time to read the following quotes and to think about your views on and experiences in listening with empathy.

"Listening is an attitude of the heart, a genuine desire to be with another which both attracts and heals." – J. Isham

"The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer." - Henry David Thoreau

"Dialogue is about people—listening to them, empathizing with them, and humbling ourselves for a moment that we might understand a different view." - Science & Spirit, January/February 2001

"The first duty of love is to listen." –Paul Tillich

"To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in the art of conversation." - Francois de La Rochefoucauld

"Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble." - Frank Frank Tyger

"Listen. Do not have an opinion while you listen because frankly, your opinion doesn't hold much water outside of Your Universe. Just listen. Listen until their brain has been twisted like a dripping towel and what they have to say is all over the floor." - Hugh Elliott

These questions provide ways you may want to approach this topic. Remember to focus on just one or two of the questions, if you choose to use them, as this will allow you to explore the topic in more depth.

  • Have you changed your habits of listening? What event in your life influenced that change?
  • What is your listening style? When you are giving someone your full attention, how do you act (e.g. do you close your eyes, maintain eye-contact, lean forward, nod your head, take notes, etc.)?
  • Talk about a time you learned something about your listening style.
  • What listening experiences have been most enjoyable for you? Most difficult?
  • To what extent have your growing up experiences shaped the way you listen to others?

Special Materials

  • Name tags and marker(s).
  • Group Agreements written out on a large piece of paper or poster board, to be posted on the wall.

Further Exploration