Imagine you just shared something that is really bothering you (make up a scenario). How would you feel hearing these comments? What makes them feel validating or invalidating? What would you like to hear instead?
- “That would make me nervous too.”
- “You’ll be fine.”
- “That’s it? From the way you’re talking I thought it was much worse.”
- “You sound so nervous. What can I do to help?”
- “Given that so much is riding on this, it makes sense that you’re feeling confused.”
- “At least it’s not ____________.”
- “So many people go through this. You’ll be fine too.”
- “Just put a smile on your face and tough it out.”
- “You can’t let anyone know you are concerned.”
- “It sounds like you’ve been through a tough time with this.”
- “Why didn’t you tell me earlier. We could have worked through this together.”
- “Don’t worry; things will work out.”
- “It’s not that big of a deal.”
- “You know what you should do…”
- “I know exactly how you feel.”
- “I hear you.”
- “When that happened to me, I did …”