How do you show empathy in chat and email?
Learn from the community’s knowledge. Experts are adding insights into this AI-powered collaborative article, and you could too.
This is a new type of article that we started with the help of AI, and experts are taking it forward by sharing their thoughts directly into each section.
If you’d like to contribute, request an invite by liking or reacting to this article. Learn more
— The LinkedIn Team
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It is a crucial skill for customer support agents, as it helps them to connect with customers, resolve their issues, and create a positive impression of the brand. In this article, you will learn how to show empathy in chat and email, using some practical tips and examples.
Why empathy matters
Empathy matters because it makes customers feel valued, respected, and heard. It also helps you to build rapport, trust, and loyalty with them. When you show empathy, you acknowledge their emotions, needs, and expectations, and you demonstrate that you care about their situation and satisfaction. Empathy can also reduce frustration, anger, and conflict, and increase cooperation, understanding, and feedback.
-
Empathy is an essential component of work culture because at the end of day each and every work is being executed by humans. It helps someone performing low to come up with greater results and add value to the organisation.
8
-
Empathy is critical component of effective email communication and it can be conveyed through various strategies. Start by acknowledging the recipient's emotions or situation in a warm and friendly tone. Actively listen and respond thoughtfully to their concerns showing that you care about their needs. Offer support and assistance when appropriate fostering a collaborative approach with phrases like Let's work together. Avoid blame or judgment in your emails especially in delicate situations and apologize sincerely if necessary. Practice patience as people may need time to process information or make decisions. Utilize positive language emphasizing solutions and positive outcomes while signing off with an empathetic closing like Take care.
3
How to express empathy
Expressing empathy in chat and email requires using the right words, tone, and style. To ensure your communication is positive, polite, and empathetic, use their name and personal pronouns, phrases like "I'm sorry to hear that" or "I understand how you feel", active listening skills such as paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as emoticons and emojis (but sparingly). This will show that you are addressing them as an individual, not as a number or a case. Additionally, it will demonstrate that you recognize and respect their feelings while also conveying warmth, friendliness, and humor.
-
In customer service, empathy is the capacity to affirm a customer's feelings and indicate that you can understand their frustration or pain — even if the problem was out of your control. In other words, empathy is putting yourself in someone else's shoes — understanding their perspective from their point of view.
3
-
Direct or Indirect communication should include proper salutation. It should also be kept in mind that choosing proper word should be a basic duty of the person. Paying heed to someones concern with special care can lead to a greater communication skills.
2
How to avoid pitfalls
In order to effectively communicate with customers via chat and email, it's important to avoid common pitfalls that may damage your relationship. For instance, don't make assumptions or judgments without confirmation, and avoid generic or scripted responses. Additionally, don't interrupt or rush the customer, and be sure to remain non-defensive and non-argumentative. Show patience and respect by giving the customer time to express their thoughts and feelings, and apologize for any inconvenience or mistake. By avoiding these pitfalls, you can build strong relationships with customers and provide better service.
-
Also, ensure you acknowledge all of what the customer says. For example, if a customer chats that they're having issues with their service, they're having a bad week, and they're super frustrated with the chat process, apologize for the frustration with the chat and ensure you're going to help them, empathize with the week they're having, and then get into the details of the issues.
1
-
Ultimately, your goal is to build trust and establish a productive dialogue with the customer, not to show off your technical proficiency. Consider the customer's background, including their level of understanding of the technology being supported and their role in the company. When a customer expresses difficulty understanding the technology and uses layman's terms, it is crucial to provide reassurance and adjust the language used to ensure effective communication. Conversely, when dealing with customers more knowledgeable in the field, be honest about your own level of understanding. Despite potentially having less technical expertise, you still possess the necessary tools and communication channels to provide assistance.
How to measure empathy
Measuring empathy in chat and email involves evaluating how well you are delivering empathetic customer service and how it affects your performance and outcomes. To do this, ask customers to rate your service, leave a comment, or fill out a survey. This will help you to understand their level of satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy, as well as their suggestions for improvement. Additionally, monitor your key performance indicators such as response time, resolution time, first contact resolution, customer satisfaction, and customer retention. These will help you to track your efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of service. Finally, review your chat and email transcripts regularly by yourself or with a supervisor or a peer to identify strengths and weaknesses and learn from successes and failures.
-
When you're chatting or emailing, empathy means showing that you understand and care about how the other person feels. Here's how you can do it: 1. Be friendly and polite in your words. 2. Let them know you understand their feelings. 3. Summarize what they're going through to show you're paying attention. 4. Offer your help and support. 5. Don't judge them or their feelings. 6. Listen carefully and say things like "I hear you." 7. Share your own similar experiences, if it makes sense. 8. Tell them it's okay to feel the way they do. 9. Ask questions that let them talk about their situation. 10. Give them time to express themselves and don't rush to fix things. Remember, being empathetic means genuinely caring about their emotions.
4
-
Purposeful communication can not be overemphasised, especially in the area of coperate communication and customer support. Empathy induces positive and proper response from the receiving end, ensuring a good level of understanding which is necessary for business continuity.
3
How to improve empathy
Improving empathy in chat and email requires developing your skills and habits to become a more empathetic customer support agent. To do this, you should learn from other agents who are good at showing empathy, whether it’s by reading their transcripts, listening to their calls, or shadowing them. Additionally, practice empathy in your daily life, not only with customers but also with colleagues, friends, and family. Furthermore, it’s important to seek feedback from customers, supervisors, and peers on your empathy level and use it to improve any areas of weakness. Lastly, be open to constructive criticism and praise and be willing to change and grow.
-
Encourage employees to fully listen to their colleagues, focusing on understanding rather than simply waiting for their turn to speak. Paraphrasing and asking questions to clarify demonstrates genuine interest and empathy. Employees should be empowered to share their feelings without fear of judgment, fostering an empathetic culture. Establish open lines of communication throughout the organization, ensuring that employees feel comfortable reaching out for support when needed. Regular team check-ins, feedback sessions, and peer-mentoring programs can facilitate open dialogues and promote empathy.
3
-
Any feedback should be accepted with a greater heart. Politeness is respect to any anger leads to a greater communication with positive result.
2
Here’s what else to consider
This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?
-
Working on feedback Positive approach to any negativity Politeness towards anger and patience Customer centric approach with stipulation
4
-
Core values are another way to produce company wide empathy inside of text. When someone crosses a line you can refer back to the core values. When you value empathy, you profit humanity. For example, I use tough on the issues but soft on the people as a manager value. This forces people to manage with both heart and brain. Brain for the issue, heart for the delivery. That's corporate empathy for me.
1