"The latter kind-the empathy I just learned about-is cognitive empathy, and it's something entirely different. Rather than asking you to feel and mirror what someone else is feeling, cognitive empathy asks you to understand how that person is thinking -their context, pressures, assumptions and likely reactions. You don't have to feel a nything; you just have to pause long enough to deliberately consider the reader's point of view. It's more about exploring different perspectives than going through an emotional exercise. Then again, cognitive empathy doesn't ask you to feel less; it just asks you to think for a beat or two longer."
"The thing is, for many years, the business echo chamber-conference stages, LinkedIn posts, leadership books-has been urging small business owners, entrepreneurs and creators to write with empathy. "Feel what your customers feel," they say. "Mirror their emotions. Put yourself in your customers' shoes." Well, I recently learned there are two types of empathy, thanks to a Forbes CEO newsletter by Megan Poinski and her interview with Christine Barton, North America Leader of Boston Consulting Group's CEO Advisory Practice. I also learned that cognitive empathy-the type I didn't know about-could actually resonate with you more."
There are two types of empathy: emotional and cognitive. Emotional empathy asks a person to feel and mirror another's emotions, often showing care through expressive language and tone. Emotional empathy can feel exhausting or performative for some people. Cognitive empathy asks a person to understand how someone else is thinking—their context, pressures, assumptions, and likely reactions—without needing to feel the emotion. Cognitive empathy requires pausing to deliberately consider the reader's point of view and exploring different perspectives. Cognitive empathy remains thoughtful rather than emotionally expressive and can resonate more with certain audiences and communicators.
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