Connecting with Empathy: The Power of Human Understanding with Ed Kirwan

Can empathy be taught? Ed Kirwan, founder and CEO of Empathy Studios and Empathy Week, delves into this topic in this episode.

Discover what empathy truly means, why it's crucial for building meaningful connections, and how to cultivate this vital skill. Ed shares his personal journey, practical strategies, and insights for educators and leaders. Plus, learn about Empathy Week and how to get involved.

 

In this episode

• 1:57 Ed's journey with empathy
• 8:35 What is empathy?
• 11:15 Empathy vs. sympathy and kindness
• 16:16 Rate my empathy
• 17:41 Donald Trump and empathy
• 19:42 Steve Jobs and empathy
• 21:48 Is Taylor Swift empathetic?
• 25:00 Can you be too empathetic?
• 30:32 Why empathy matters
• 31:23 Is empathy learnable?
• 33:47 Practical tips for developing empathy
• 37:30 Empathy Week
• 45:21 Bottom Line It Round
• 46:14 Developing our own empathy

 

About Our Guest

Ed Kirwan is the founder and CEO of Empathy Studios and   Empathy Week, which promote empathy in education and beyond.

 

Articles

• Demetriou, H. (2018) Empathy, Emotion and Education. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Galoustian, G. (2022) Greater Empathy in Adolescents Helps Prevent Bias-based Cyberbullying

 

Resources

• Born Free. Animal and wildlife charity
• Empathy Week and Empathy Studios
• Slido and Mentimeter survey tools
• No Isolation reduces school absence with AV1 robots

 

Join the conversation
How are you building empathy in your classrooms? Share your thoughts with Kai on LinkedIn or YouTube @BSMuscat

 

Credits

Hosted by Kai Vacher

Produced by Stuart Pardoe, Zoe Snell, and Marion James

A BSM BSS production