If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far. This is how important empathy is and too an extent we all do empathise right?
We empathise with our friends, family and people who are near us. Today, let us have a look at some of the questions related to empathy that might be asked in IELTS speaking sample answer.
How much empathy do you feel towards other people?
I would say, I do feel but then I don’t just get drowned into it. I do empathise with people but only those who do deserve it. There are some who don’t try on their own and then complain about their pathetic state, I am not one of those who would empathise with them. But, yes if the person is genuine and the problem is genuine, I do empathise and even try to solve it.
Do you think it is possible to be too empathetic?
Yes, there are people who are. I have met people who sometimes empathise so much that they forget about their own problems to just solve other people’s problem. I think it is a great thing to do if you really can. But, it demands lot of patience and love because not always do we get back what we give.
Why might it be bad/good for a doctor to have a lot of empathy?
If a doctor is empathising with the problem of patient it brings in a comfort level for the patient which is very important if the doctor is trying to solve the issue. But, if the empathising goes on very personal level and the doctor takes away the patient problem to home, I think it might cause troubled life for the doctor. Because at the end of the day, he/she is also an individual with own problems.
In what other jobs is empathy very important?
Empathy is very important in jobs like counsellor, therapist or if you are working in a customer service.
Who is the most empathetic person you know?
The only person name who comes to my mind when I think of empathy is Mother Teresa. Obviously, I have not met her personally, but I have surely read about her a lot. She, I believe, is the epitome of empathy. Not only she empathise with other people problem but also tried her best to solve them.
In what jobs is empathy a bad thing to have?
I think empathy might not be very much required in jobs like army, police, defence or doctor. People in army or defence have to fight the terrorism and looking at the other as a human or individual might cost an arm and leg to the army officers. Even jobs in courts don’t require empathy. A judge might not be able to take right decision if he or she starts empathising with the victim or the convict. It is very important to go by logic to ensure a right decision.
Why do you think humans feel empathy? Do you think animals can feel empathy?
The only reasons human feel empathy is because they have the reasoning ability. They are able to understand are reason out the other person problem, most probably because they have also gone through that phase. They are able to express and so empathise as well. Animals do have empathy, unlike humans who can reason and express, animals have their own way of showing concern. Like, the dog that I have in my house, I don’t know how, but he gets to know when I am sad.
Do you think that people are born with empathy or are they taught it?
I think too an extent they are born with it. Humans have the tendency to feel and understand other people’s opinion. But, too an extent empathy need to be taught as well. Obviously you cannot teach people to empathise but surely how to empathise can be taught because there is a certain way of understanding other person problem and dealing with.
If you see a homeless person on the street asking for money, what is the first thing you think about them?
The first thing that comes to my mind is that life is hard for them and for no fault of theirs. But, then with crime increasing, we never know, there are people who are being abducted and forced into beggary. I wish someday I am able to do something to solve this problem.
Are you good at knowing when something is wrong with a coworker or family member?
Most of the times, I am. With people who are close to me, for some reasons I do get an intuition if there is something wrong with them. And I think if you know a person well, it just shows up. Either people start getting too happy or start shutting themselves down.
What does the idiom “I feel your pain.” mean? Have you ever felt some else’s pain?
It simply means that you are able to understand what other person is going through. Yes, some time back my friend was going through a very rough time. She was failing in exams and family troubles and pressure was high. She used to come to me and talk with me, and I could completely feel her pain because I had felt that before as well.
