Tapestry of Faith: Principled Commitment: An Adult Program on Building Strong Relationships

Leader Resource 2: Empathy Role-Play

Perform the skit twice. The first time, partner B will read only his/her dialogue, omitting the words in parentheses. The second time, partner B will read the words in parentheses to identify the different parts of his/her response.

Partner A [frustrated; talking about a co-worker]:

It won't do any good to talk to him; he doesn't listen to anybody. He's going to do what he wants to do. What I say won't make a bit of difference.

Partner B [with compassion in the voice]:

You don't think you'll be heard. (response to content) It sounds like you're feeling hopeless and don't believe you'll be able to change things. (response to feeling)