From a recent mock interview, a particular question that stuck out to me when the interviewer asked me was what is the difference between sympathy and empathy. I was able to explain that the difference is primarily based upon how one feels for others. Sympathy is when you feel sorry or bad for another person. However, empathy is being able to relate and understand to the problems of someone else and connecting on a higher level.
When answering another question in a different, I referenced myself as being a future physician who is sympathetic toward others. At the end of this mock interview, the interviewer told me to use the word empathetic instead of sympathetic. Even though I had previously explained the difference between the two, I didn't realize how it had made such a huge difference when using it to describe yourself. The interview told me that saying you're sympathetic means that you're looking at others as "outsiders" and that isn't a quality a physician should use to describe themselves.
This experience showed me the importance of carefully choosing our words and how it greatly impacts the meaning of what you intend to say. We discussed in class of how using big or fancy words to replace mediocre ones is not always as effective. This is because it gets lost in translation and has a different meaning than what it is supposed to. Using the right set of words in speech and writing is crucial in order to accurately relay thoughts and ideas.
When I was writing my research paper, I made sure to be aware of my tone and not to use big words. With tone, it is very important to be aware of your audience. If you're addressing someone higher up, such as the president, using mediocre words is fine, but making sure that the tone and vocabulary isn't too casual is important too.
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