Empathy Statements: How to Verbally Show Your Support

Empathy statements can be valuable tokens of appreciation for everyone in your life, from your siblings to your coworkers. Understanding what others are feeling can strengthen your bond with them.

Empathy is crucial for success across all areas of life. The more we understand ourselves, the easier it is to connect with it and respond to loved ones. A lack of empathy leads to disconnection and loneliness. If you want to become more empathetic, this article is a must-read. We’ll talk about why empathy matters and how to support people who verbally matter to you.

What Is Empathy?

Empathy can best be explained as an ability to comprehend and share another person’s feelings. Empathy requires more than just knowing what someone is going through or how they feel about it. It requires a real emotional connection to the person who is sharing their experience.

Those who are empathetic are able to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, regardless of that experience being pleasant or unpleasant. For instance, they can share your joy at buying your first home while also supporting you during a breakup, illness, job loss, or anything else.

Types of Empathy

Although we typically just talk about empathy in general, three types of empathy exist: emotional, cognitive, and compassionate. Emotional empathy is feeling what someone else feels, even if they can’t express it. If you are emotionally empathetic, you can sense the feelings other people are experiencing and show support on an emotional level.

Cognitive empathy refers to understanding the other person’s thoughts or feelings. Instead of feeling the pain or joy of the other person, you are comprehending their experience on a cognitive level.

Lastly, compassionate empathy combines both cognitive and emotional empathy. Empaths can feel and share others’ emotions and are driven to help. If a person feels sad because they lost their job, a compassionate empath can talk to them, feel their sadness and fear, and then suggest helping by updating their resume or sending a list of job search sites.

How to Show Support Verbally

Before we share some of the empathy statements you can use to support people in your life, let’s look into the things you should remember when being empathetic. From listening carefully to acknowledging their feelings, other actions can be equally important as your supportive words.

Listen Carefully

When somebody is sharing something important with you, listen carefully. Put down your phone and focus your attention on what they are saying. If you can’t concentrate because you’re in a crowded place, offer to go somewhere more private. While the person is talking, pay attention to what and how they are saying. You can learn a lot about how they experienced something by talking about it.

Validate Their Experience

When we share something important with another person, we often want feedback. This feedback doesn’t necessarily have to be a solution. Instead, we seek validation from people we care about. Validation helps us heal, and it relieves us knowing that others also understand what we are experiencing.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

Once the person is done sharing their story, be sure to ask questions. Remaining silent might lead them to think you weren’t interested in their story. Instead, ask questions to show you care and understand them. Don’t be judgmental or try to force them to behave as you’d behave if you were in their situation. If you don’t know which questions to ask, try these:

What was the hardest thing for you in that experience?
Do you want to talk more about it?
What do you need from me? I want you to feel supported in this moment.
What would you like to do now with all of these feelings?
Do you want us to plan something in the near future to address these issues again?

Empathy Statements to Show Understanding

The questions mentioned above are a wonderful example of ways to show empathy to a person who needs it.

However, there are numerous other empathy statements you can choose from, depending on the situation. Here are some examples:

“That sounds really hard. I’m so sorry you’re going through this.”
“I cannot even imagine how that must feel.”
“You’re not alone—I’m here for you.”
“Thank you for trusting me with this.”
“It makes sense that you’d feel this way.”
“That sounds overwhelming. Are you okay?”
“I hear you.”
“What you’re feeling is totally valid.”
“I’m with you. You don’t have to go through this experience alone.”
“It’s okay to feel this way! There’s no right or wrong way to deal with such a situation.”
“I see how much this means to you.”
“This must be so upsetting. I’m here if you need to talk.”
“I care about you and want to support you however I am able.”
“You’ve been through a lot. It’s okay to ask for support.”

Some other examples of empathy statements include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

“I may not fully understand, but I’m listening.”
“You’re doing the best you can, and that’s enough.”
“Your feelings are completely understandable.”
“Take your time. There’s no pressure to rush through this.”
“Would you like to talk more about it?”
“Is there anything you need right now?”
“I’m here to listen without any judgment.”
“That must have been painful.”
“I’m sorry you’re feeling this way. Let’s figure it out together.”
“I can see how much strength it took to share that.”
“You don’t need to have it all figured out. One step at a time.”
“That’s a valid concern. Let’s talk it through.”
“You’re not being dramatic. The situation is real, and it matters.”
“It’s completely natural to feel that way.”
“Thank you for being honest with me. That takes courage.”
“I’ve got your back. I’m here.”

Make sure that the empathy statement you decide to use resonates with you. Saying something without resonance could make the other person feel like they shouldn’t have shared their experience with you. Use your own words to show support, and be kind while talking to them afterward. Supporting each other is an essential component of any relationship.

If you need to learn how to use empathy, book a session with one of our team members today.

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