If you have strong right-brain interpersonal qualities you can rule the world! Daniel Pink argues in his new book ‘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. Apparently, 1 in 20 of us are natural born empaths highly adept at being able to read and understand people and resonate with them on many levels. Think you might be one of ‘em? Take this quiz here and find out!
Recent studies in the US though, show that students have 40% less empathy than 30 years ago. Reasons for this are said to be societal changes i.e. violence in the media, modern technology, video games and the rise of social media generally which has reduced face-to-face interaction. Add to this a weird and hyper-competitive atmosphere with inflated expectations of success borne of celebrity ʻrealityʼ shows.
If this is the case, how can empathy be cultivated? Well, the good news is that we all have the capacity to develop it through right-brain thinking and living.
According to neuro scientist Dr. Shanida Nataraja, Westerners use the left hemisphere of their brain too much, focusing on the logical, rational and analytical aspects of the mind. The right hemisphere of the brain is associated with seeing the whole picture, emotional expression, creativity, non verbal awareness and visual and spatial perception and it is the neural site of empathy. That’s right – our brains are naturally capable of developing it! 
One way to activate right brain thinking is by practising mindfulness meditation, defined as a heightened awareness of the present moment that comes about by observing thought patterns and emotion without judgement or getting overly involved. This has shown to create significant changes in the in the areas of the brain connected to attention and feelings. Think this is not something business people could get into? Penelope Marvor, a leadership consultant says: “I think increasingly there are people who are curious to develop these skills and are being trained and coached to do so, like the pharmacists I will be working with this week in Riga. One ‘technique’ I will be emphasising with them as a way to develop empathy is learning to quiet our own inner state. Through practicing mindfulness such as bringing our awareness and attention to the present by noticing our breathing, the greater chance we have of connecting with ourselves and with others in the moment.”
Or how about that yoga or pilates class? According to Dr. Rick Hanson, when you focus on your body and breathing, whether through meditation or something like pilates, dance or yoga, the area of the brain known as the (insular cortex) actually thickens; the part of the brain to do with the internal state of the body and gut feelings and the emotional state of other people.
Have fun trying the colour test here to help you strengthen right-brain thinking or try this one.
Other ways include telling stories, drawing and singing. These are all methodologies that can be introduced into communication skills training and soft skills training and have real impact in terms of personal development.
