Learn why empathy formulas often sound robotic and how Chapter 6 of *A Practical EmPath* teaches a four-step framework that keeps difficult conversations authentic and effective.
The story
If your empathy comes out like a stiff little script,
People hear the clank and reach for their phone.
When you speak from your values, you stay better equipped,
And your words land human, not a corporate tone.
Ever try an “empathy formula” and feel like a customer service chatbot wearing a cardigan? Problem: the *structure* helps, but the delivery gets weird, and everybody’s defensiveness firewall turns on.
Chapter 6 of *A Practical EmPath: Rewire Your Mind* by Scott Howard Swain solves that: it teaches Practical Empathy Practice, PEP, in a way that sounds *authentic, empathic, and natural*, not scripted.
PEP is four steps, and Chapter 6 keeps them human:
1] *Objective observation*, what happened, minus the “and therefore you’re wrong” frosting.
2] *Feelings*, in normal-people language.
3] The driver underneath, *values or wants*, not clinical “needs.”
4] *Positive, actionable requests*, doable and collaborative, not sneaky demands.
Swain even shows the same framework working in both clinical and casual conversations, including workplace scenarios. Translation: you can refactor your communication without losing your personality.
Want your next hard conversation to feel less like a performance and more like connection plus problem-solving? Go read Chapter 6.
