Many leaders come to empathy in their style and communication based on their own challenges. Today's guest shares how vulnerably sharing her story led her down the path of teaching and training on empathy, and how you can boldly leverage vulnerability as an asset in your communication, leading to stronger connections and better results.

Sharon Steed is a keynote speaker, author, and empathy expert specializing in communication and collaboration. As the founder of Communilogue, she helps organizations build more inclusive, connected teams through the power of vulnerability and empathy. A stutterer since childhood, Sharon uses her personal experience to illustrate how embracing discomfort fosters growth. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies, tech leaders, and global organizations, delivering impactful talks and workshops. Sharon is also a LinkedIn Learning Instructor with multiple courses on empathy. She hosts a weekly live podcast on LinkedIn and YouTube on empathy in the age of AI called Empathy In Automation. Her work empowers professionals to lead with authenticity and compassion. 

Sharon shares her powerful story and discusses how to be vulnerable and communicate with empathy in productive ways—ways that influence and ignite your team, customers, and other stakeholders. We also had an interesting discussion about the intersection of empathy and AI and how to keep humanity in a tech-driven world.

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com, search by episode title.

Listen in for…

• Why curiosity is an empathetic power.
• What it means to communicate with empathy and how to overcome communication barriers.
• The power of setting your conversational intentions out loud.
• The importance of empathy in the age of AI. 

"Everybody swears that they are terrible at communicating. And (I say), well, no, every single time you enter a room, you are communicating." —  Sharon Steed

Episode References: 

• The Empathy Edge podcast episodes:
• Dr. Michelle Zhou: Empathic AI is Real and It’s Here – But We Need Everyone Involved!
• Chris L. Johnson: When Leaders Pause, They Win

About Sharon Steed, Speaker and Founder, Communilogue:

Sharon Steed is a keynote speaker, author, and empathy expert specializing in communication and collaboration. As the founder of Communilogue, she helps organizations build more inclusive, connected teams through the power of vulnerability and empathy. A stutterer since childhood, Sharon uses her personal experience to illustrate how embracing discomfort fosters growth. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies, tech leaders, and global organizations, delivering impactful talks and workshops. Sharon is also a LinkedIn Learning instructor, with courses on Communicating with Empathy and Driving Inclusion with Empathy; she hosts a weekly live podcast on LinkedIn and YouTube on empathy in the age of AI called Empathy In Automation. Her work empowers professionals to lead with authenticity and compassion. 

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Connect with Sharon:

Communilogue: communilogue.co

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sharon-steed

LinkedIn Learning Course: Communicating With Empathy

YouTube: Empathy in Automation

LinkedIn Newsletter: linkedin.com/newsletters/7107818443042656256/

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books on empathy: Red-Slice.com/books

Learn more about Maria's work: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with Empathy

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice

Threads: @redslicemaria

Keynote Speakers and Conference Trainers: Get your free Talkadot trial and enjoy this game changer for your speaking business! www.share.talkadot.com/mariaross

Get your copy of The Empathy Dilemma here- www.theempathydilemma.com