It is with the heart that one sees rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Empathy is being able to feel what it is like to be someone else, to put yourself in their place.

Daniel Goleman explains that the more open we are to our own emotions, the better we will be at reading the feelings of others. The key lies in being able to read signs: tone of voice, gesture, facial expression. It is not just what people say, but how they say it. Goleman says that Empathy is the most important social skill to develop.

The way to connect with another person is to listen to them . As Dan Goleman puts it: ‘Many of us are poor listeners. And it is being made worse by technology. You need to be away from your laptop, put down your BlackBerry or mobile, stop daydreaming and pay full attention to the person you’re with. This may sound simple, but think how often we just keep on multitasking and only half pay attention.’

He goes on to say ‘we need to make the connection between head and heart, between the thinking and feeling aspects of ourselves, in order to become a more fully rounded and effective human being. The person with self-knowledge will discover his or her empathy with fellow human beings and make this the cornerstone of success'.