Difference between Sympathy and Empathy
Sympathy is described as taking part in the emotions of another while empathy is defined as experiencing the thoughts of others and identifying with them mentally. Sympathy involves a genuine experience of emotions so as to respond to them appropriately. Empathy on the other hand creates a psychological space where the person can feel valued and understood as a response to their experience (Kaul 98).
Why is Empathy Better?
In businesses communications, empathy is better because it makes the customers feel understood and promotes a mutual understanding between the company and its customers and stakeholders alike. It creates a meaningful way of engaging people in a business or organization and plays an important role in ensuring the business success. Using empathy facilitates authentic engagement, which in turn boosts the culture of loyalty, increased motivation and higher productivity in the workplace.
How cognitive empathy improves business communication
Cognitive empathy enables the business associates and stakeholders to better understand the emotional relation that the customers or target clients have with the products that they offer. Such can enable them to design the market entry strategy and the marketing pitch that they can use to reach their target clients (Clark 124).
Importance of empathy in business communication
The importance of empathy in business communication is that it fosters understanding, respect and it's a show of care towards one's colleagues. It brings about the feeling of belonging in the workplace thus improving one's productivity (Baker 47).
How practicing business communication empathy requires developing a sense of imagination and motive recognition
Practicing business communication empathy requires one to develop a sense of imagination and motive recognition because the act of relating to others fosters understanding in the workplace thus ensuring a successful business.
Works Cited
Baker, Diane F. "Teaching Empathy and Ethical Decision Making in Business Schools." Journal of Management Education (2017): 1052562917699028.
Clark, Colin Mackinnon, et al. "Is empathy effective for customer service? Evidence from call center interactions." Journal of Business and Technical Communication 27.2 (2013): 123-153.
Kaul, Asha. Effective business communication. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., 2014.