Often we discover that the person with whom we are sharing our feelings has experienced the same type of situation or has perhaps known someone else who has. lived. If we expect family members and friends to confide in us, we must learn to listen with empathy. Empathetic listening involves understanding the feelings, needs, and desires of the speaker so that you can appreciate their perspective, whether you share that perspective or not (Bovee & Thill, 2016, p. 44). To be an effective listener, we must avoid forming opinions about what the speaker is saying while he or she is still speaking, which usually leads to finding part of the speaker's story to refute. I remember a particular phone conversation between my younger brother and I several months ago. He called and said he hadn't heard from our sister in a while and was worried about her so he was wondering if I had heard from her. As I listened to my brother explain to