Empathy is a skill not a quality

We need to get better at empathy if we want to develop products that our customers love.

Here are some things you might like to try to level up your empathy game.

🎧 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴

Show your customers that you really hear them. Try using phrases like, “I think what I heard you say was…” or “Let me make sure I’ve got this right…” to reflect their thoughts and frustrations back to them.

🥤𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗧𝗼 𝗕𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 (𝗝𝗧𝗕𝗗)

Look at your customers' goals through a broader lens—go beyond tasks and dig into the emotional and social aspects. How do they want to feel? How do they want others to feel?

🌍𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝘀

A visual tool that helps you understand how your customer thinks, feels and behaves. I like Dave Gray's version.

📗𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀

Storytelling allows us to connect with our customers on a deeper shared emotional level beyond discussing the features of our product. Follow Bernadette Jiwa to help unlock the magic of storytelling.

🗺️𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝘀

A tool for understanding the highs and lows of existing and new customer journeys. Where are the friction points? Where can we build in moments of delight? 

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲?