He noted that successful mediation would require not only understanding, but the ability to project this understanding to the respective parties in order to do so, mediators ought to consider “the emotional background of an issue and the personalities involved” just as much as the “facts” through empathic listening. One of the first mediators to write about empathetic listening as a technique was William Simkin in 1971, former director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. As such, empathetic listening has moved beyond its original psychotherapy context to be used as a communication tool in education, nursing, and marketing. For Rogers, empathetic communication had the purpose of facilitating personal growth in the individuals involved. Psychotherapist Carl Rogers went on to qualify empathetic understanding as understanding the “inner world” of another without losing one’s own identity. Berlo was one of the first to insist upon the importance of empathic understanding in successful communication, with his ideas being expanded on by contemporary sociologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. In the 1960s, David Berlo theorized about empathy in speech communication as existing in two forms: inference based on similar prior experiences and role-taking. Beginning as a topic of study for interpersonal communications scholars, empathic listening was originally studied within the dyadic and therapeutic context. In other words, it is the ability to understand the position of another by placing yourself in their proverbial shoes. Titchener termed “empathy” the English equivalent for the German “Einfühlung” (“feeling into”)”, referring to the capacity to lose one’s self-awareness by fusing their identity with the object of perception. The term “empathy” has its contemporary origins in 1909 when “Cornell psychologist Edward B. The empathetic listening technique “enables the disputants to release their emotions, reduces tensions, encourages the surfacing of information, and creates a safe environment that is conducive to collaborative problem-solving.” Origins and Development In order to appropriately respond to a speaker during discussions, individuals must first accurately interpret their message, which this tool enables. Empathetic listening, also known as empathic, active, or reflective listening, refers to “a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding and trust." The technique can be essential to “the success of a negotiation or mediation,” particularly discussions are highly emotional or prone to deadlock in deliberations.
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