Empathy is by far and away the most effective tool you have for relating to someone, to connecting with someone, and for communication.
It’s a learned skill that only gets better with practice.
It takes deliberate and intentional effort.
It’s so much better to relate to someone than to try to fix them, or tell them what’s wrong with them.
But if you aren’t going to do the work to build your empathy skill, a simple “me too” makes a world of difference.
It doesn’t feel like much at the time but it is effective.
We are all the same deep down – you always have a me too rolling around somewhere.