Understand Your Feelings. Communicate What Matters
The Empathy Set helps you identify what you’re feeling, understand what you need, and express yourself clearly in conversations that matter.
✔ Get clarity
Find the right words for what you’re feeling.
✔ Understand needs
Discover what’s underneath your reactions.
✔ Communicate better
Speak honestly without blame or conflict.
The Empathy Set (Original Cards)
56 feelings cards + 56 needs cards
✔ Simple and easy to use
✔ Clear, practical language
✔ Great for everyday conversations
Best for: getting started quickly
$24.97
The Empathy Set (Definitions Edition)
Cards with built-in definitions and synonyms (most popular)
✔ Deeper emotional clarity
✔ Expanded vocabulary
✔ Helps you find the right word
Best for: going deeper and refining expression
$28.97
The Dictionary of 108 Feelings and Needs:
A reference guide to deepen your understanding
✔ Definitions and synonyms in one place
✔ Supports “I” statements
✔ A helpful companion to the cards
Best for: learning and reflection
Hardcopy for $12.97 (most popular)
Go Deeper with the Free Empathy Set® App
The Empathy Set® App helps you apply the cards to real situations.
It guides you step-by-step to identify your feelings, understand your needs, and prepare for meaningful conversations.
✔ Work through real situations
Name what you’re feeling and what you need.
✔ Understand both sides
Consider what the other person may be feeling and needing.
✔ Communicate clearly
Turn insight into “I” statements and constructive dialogue.
Free to use. No cost. No limits.
Why This Work Matters
Most conflict isn’t about bad intent.
It’s about not knowing how to express what we feel or need.
When we lack that clarity, we react.
And the gap between people widens.
The Empathy Set® gives you a simple way to:
slow down
understand what’s happening inside you
communicate in a way that builds connection instead of tension
John Ford
Created by John Ford
I’ve spent over 30 years helping people navigate conflict. First as an attorney, and now as a workplace mediator and trainer.
Over time, I saw a pattern:
People weren’t lacking goodwill.
They were lacking the language to express what mattered.
The Empathy Set® was created to change that.
Talking Sticks
Simple tools that support respectful, structured conversation.
Clarifies who is speaking
Encourages listening
Creates space for every voice
Zulu Beaded Talking Stick for $39.97 | Giraffe NVC Talking Stick for $19.97
The Empathy Guide
A Practical Path to Presence, Understanding, and Connection
A thoughtful 53-page guide exploring:
what empathy is and how it differs from sympathy,
why empathy matters in relationships and communication,
how emotional reactions shape difficult conversations,
the role of feelings and needs in emotional awareness,
and practical ways to build empathy, connection, and relational clarity.
Drawn from more than thirty years of mediation, training, and emotional literacy work, this revised edition brings together practical insight, reflection, and real-world communication tools you can return to over time.
Empathy Explorer
A guided tool to help you work through difficult conversations using feelings and needs.