Program Managers at Star Vista in Redwood City, CA came together on March 27 to learn more about how they can grow the practice of Empathy in their work and their programs. This is part of the Compassionate Conversations Coaching Project with Redwood City 2020 and Community Network for Youth Development.

2. Each of us has
stories. We are
better when we
are able to tell
them. We are
better when we
are able to hear
them.

3.  Sympathy – “I’m
sorry that Compassion
happened to
you.”
 Empathy – “I see Empathy
your pain and I
understand.”
 Compassion –
“How do you Sympathy
need me to
help?”

4. An interdependent
group of people
connected by
passion, proximity, or
both and care
deeply for the well- “There is great strength in the
being of each other closeness of the connections we
build through interdependence, and
this is ultimately the strength of a
community. A community of
completely independent people is a
not a community at all.”
- Mary Gordon, Founder, Roots of
Empathy

5. Gratitude
Peaceful &
Empathy Powerful Honor Altruism
Interactions
Art Play

6.  Get quiet & present
 Listen to and Share
our Stories
 Identify & Accept all
Feelings
 Example Practices:
› Journalism/Interviews
The ability to recognize,
understand, and relate to › Playback Theater
the humanity in each › Emotion Coaching
other.

7.  Intercultural Connections in Redwood City
2010-11
› More space for conversations
› More tools to lead conversations
 October 2011Convening
› Playback Theater
› A Conversation Café
 Compassionate Conversations
› Sharing these tools throughout Redwood
City

8.  Icebreaker: Super-sized Name Tag
 Introductions: Setting the Stage
 Warm-Up: Getting Quiet & Present
 Listen to & Share our Stories: Playback
Theater
 Short Break
 Identify & Accept all Feelings: Strategies for
growing Empathy in Star Vista programs
 Closing

9.  Be Here
 Say Yes!
 Assume the Best
 Seek
Opportunity in
the Discomfort

10.  Share your Story of
“Empathy in Action”
or “An Empathy
Deficit”
 Youth, colleagues or
both
 Beginning, Middle,
End
 Focus on Feelings

11.  Improvisational
art form of story
sharing
 Master
“Empathizers”
 Forms that can
be practiced

12.  What did you notice
about the practice of
Empathy in this video?
 How did Empathy
change the
community of this
classroom?
 How could you apply
these lessons to your
class, program,
organization?

13. What strategies can we
use to help Empathy grow
in our programs at Star
Vista?

14. 1. Recognize that the
person is having
feelings
2. Empathize by
validating and
labeling the feelings
3. Set boundaries
regarding the
behaviors that result
from the feelings

15. 1. Notebook letters…
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

16.  Play-work |Our “textbook”
http://compassionateconversations.tumblr.com
Password: compassion
 Weekly Reminder Emails, each Wednesday
 Trying 3 activities with Youth from today and/or
the blog
 Posting reflections, questions, stories to the blog
 Schedule a check-in call with Shara/Lynn
(optional)