Building social awareness is an important skill that helps individuals accurately understand other people's emotions and empathize with them. Developing empathy is one of the most important skills you can learn to improve your social awareness.
Here are a few tips for encouraging youth to be empathetic towards others:
- Emphasize the importance of having youth think about other possible perspectives that others may have that are different from their own.
- Model how to put yourself in “another person’s shoes.”
- Listen to what is being said, not necessarily to fix or to provide solutions.
- Teach that it is important that you acknowledge that you heard what is stated. Avoid making assumptions.
- Educate the difference between empathy and sympathy.
- Find opportunities to dialogue empathy. Share real-life situations. Perhaps this can even be done while reading a story or watching a movie and identifying with a character.
- Encouragement should be provided when youth model or show empathy towards other people.
- Demonstrate empathy as a positive role model. Let youth see your concern for others’ well-being.
- Ask youth how it feels when they find a social connection with others when they show empathy and concern.
- Discuss the importance of how to keep empathy and self-care in balance. Encourage ongoing conversations and check in with youth about their experiences with the process.
So, how can teens put it into practice?
- Think of people who would benefit from having something positive.
- Brainstorm ideas and gestures that would be considered positive to someone else.
- Decide on one thing that could be done daily to provide someone with a positive experience. This could be a different person each day!
- Determine and discuss the internal benefit of planning something positive for others.
It is refreshing to reflect on positive social connections you have experienced and how others have impacted your life. Take a moment and write three things about how you have impacted others. Keep adding to your list each day and reflect upon it at the end of the year.
Source: In the Moment: Social Awareness tip sheet. For the pdf download, go online here
Authors: Tessa Hobbs-Curley and Sheri Merry, Illinois Extension Educators