When most people think of “empathy”, it’s in connection with how we interact with each other face-to-face. And, absolutely, it’s a top interpersonal skill. Daniel Pink argues in ‘A Whole New Mind’ that empathy is one of six areas vital to success today. This is the ability to imagine yourself in someone elseʼs position, to identify and understand anotherʼs situation, feelings and motives. So why don’t we see more evidence of this in social media?
It does not come naturally to us to see or perceive the world as other people do. We spend a lot of our time operating within our own way of thinking, seeing or perceiving the world and expecting everyone else to be operating from the same paradigm when they won’t and they can’t! Practicing empathy consistently across a variety of interpersonal situations in the course of our day, requires work and a conscious degree of attention as well as real effort.
Bring the Internet into it and this is amplified even more. We know only too well how this has totally transformed the way we communicate. But being successful on social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook also require empathy and the same conscientious effort as in our face-to-face communications.
One of the things I just love about Twitter is that if you are a strong, confident and empathetic communicator, you draw others to you and forge relationships that actually bring in business. You become more of an expert, can draw on market intelligence and really be on top of your game. Billy Cripe, the founder of Bloomthink, a social media and mobile strategy consultancy, is adamant that using social media to engage with others relies 100% on empathy. This is because successful use of social media correctly anticipates the context and desire of your client or customer and you have to provide content that is interesting, relevant and precisely aligned to needs. That requires attention and focus – active listening.
Even more important because, unlike other communication channels, all the power is placed in the hands of your audience, not you. On Twitter, the target audience gravitate towards exactly what they want the way that they want it. They find you and not the other way round. So you need to be able to listen to them and put yourself into their shoes rather that first putting your effort into selling your product or service.
Social media has not only sharpened the breadth of information we receive but has given us a far stronger and easier way to make quick choices. The use of Twitter, for example, in business is growing faster and faster as we come to recognise it as a powerful tool create credibility. You have to share something interesting and relevant and to do that well you have to be able to listen and understand different perspectives.
It’s not hard but it is hard work!
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