Empathy. A passing trend, or the way forward?

I read something recently about empathy that made me totally freeze. In a Social Media Week video entitled Empathy, Expertise and the Truth, author Shiv Singh said “empathy is all we’ve got left”. That idea really clicked with me. I felt sure that statement was true. The trouble is, I didn’t really know what empathy was. 

So I’ve been looking for answers. I read all those 2020 articles proclaiming we need to “lead with empathy”. I tuned in to Social Media Week’s full Business of Empathy series. I even read psychotherapist Carl Rogers’ theories on the subject, which to be totally honest, I was reading anyway for a psychology course I’m taking. 

After a few weeks of reading around, I’m still no empathy expert. Of course, I understand the dictionary definition. Empathy is about really understanding, really feeling, what someone else is going through. 

But I was curious about what it actually means for me, in practice, in my life. As well as what it means for brands communicating with customers. It’s all very well saying our content needs to be empathetic, but how? What practical steps can we take to improve? 

Here’s what I learned about empathy

My research turned up a few (fairly obvious) notions. That it’s never been more difficult to get close to people. Nearly one whole year of social distancing has done a number on us. No touch, limited body language, masked faces. And on Zoom, it’s even worse. We can’t sense each other out, which is a natural animalistic need for us humans. Stripped of our usual visual cues, we’re forced to either give up on connecting, or try to go deeper.

I’ve read a lot about why we need to communicate with empathy, but not much on how to actually achieve this when you’re talking to large groups. So I gathered three practical things you can easily do, whoever you’re talking to. 

Active listening

Another name check for the wise Carl Rogers, who said:

 “We think we’re listening, but very rarely do we listen with real understanding, true empathy. Yet listening, of this very special kind, is one of the most potent forces for change that I know.” 

Case in point, Social Media Week’s empathy series included a video with Cal Austin, Director of Pfizer’s Idea Sprint Lab. Last year, Pfizer pushed the limits in creating a Covid-19 vaccine in record time. So I was fascinated to hear how they also managed to incorporate customer research into this fast-tracked process.  

Cal spoke about how every single person in the population is a potential “user” for their vaccine. So experts at Pfizer felt they needed to communicate with Covid patients, people who had experienced the virus for themselves. They prioritised interaction between Covid victims and Pfizer employees. And not just scientists either - everyone in the team from sales to marketing got the opportunity to hear about the impact of the virus, first-hand. Cal described this as incredibly powerful. 

Whatever capacity you work in, whatever your role, I bet you can find ways to interact more with your audience. And after asking the questions, the key is to listen. Really, really listen. If Pfizer can make the time for listening in 2020, then maybe we can too. 

  1. Read the room 


If you’re not sure how to go about active listening, then talking less is probably a good place to start. 

And we should be using the time we’re not talking to read the room. Delve into what your audience cares about right now. There are many ways to do this, and all of them involve more - you guessed it - listening. 

Talk directly to your audience

Take a leaf out of Pfizer’s book, and talk to your customers. You could run formal market research campaigns, or get a group together on Zoom and find out their feedback first-hand. 

Online listening

If you’re yet to try online listening, you might want to add it into the mix. Hone in on what your communities are talking about by setting up the right queries to monitor online activity, whether on search or social. You’ll also get a sense of the general mood out there, which might prompt a campaign rethink. I often find, when I work with clients on their content strategy, that the process of listening triggers new content ideas. 

Read reviews

Keep in mind that your audience might have different feedback right now. Perhaps delivery speed is more important to them than it was in 2019. Maybe they want more reassurance that your staff are following all hygiene protocols, and less promotional emails or awkward humour. We’re living in a time of changing needs. Be there for your customers and be sure to build their trust. 

A little more conversation, then a lot more action

Once you’ve had all your fruitful conversations, make sure to take action based on what you’ve learned. There’s no point in spending time listening, if you’re not prepared to react accordingly. For example, if you find out that customers are overwhelmed by all your messages, think how you could segment better or stagger communications. 

I still think there’s something in that statement. Empathy is one of the few things we have left. It may be the latest buzzword, but that’s no bad thing, as long as we take the time to actually comprehend what it means, and incorporate real customer connection into our 2021 strategies. 

Brittany Hurdle