Empathy is linked to our best relationships with people and our own well-being. Empathic people tend to be happier and enjoy less stress. Empathy is a big topic these days because research and empirical evidence suggests that empathy is in serious decline. The University of Michigan found that college students are possibly 40% less empathic today than in previous decades. So what this also means is that people simply don’t think others care. And that in turn means we don’t trust leaders, experts or others who are in fact working for the greater good. You see the point. Empathy is a squishy thing though, and we’ve seen that sometimes analytical – and particularly left-brained and well-intentioned – people just don’t know how to demonstrate empathy. Here’s a take on some basics.