I found it! I found an explanation of the difference between empathy and sympathy in NVC terms.
http://en.nvcwiki.com/index.php/Empathy_vs._Sympathy
So Dilbert (below) wasn’t needing sympathy, he needed empathy. 
And now I know I was offering BJ empathy this morning. Marshall often says that empathy is the gift of being present with the other person in that moment, and that you do not actually have to say anything. Just being there, truly present for them is empathising.
Tags: communication, empathy, nonviolent, nvc, sympathy
12:16 am - 26 July 2008 at 12:16 am |
I came across another excellent source on this topic in the form of a video.
In You listen tooo fast, Rick talks about the three S’s we commonly give others instead of offering empathy (one of them is sympathy).
Enjoying your postings.