Empathy Map

Before you pitch, present, or try to influence anyone, you need to understand how they see the world. This map walks you through six dimensions of your audience's perspective: what they think, feel, see, hear, say, and do, plus their pains and gains. It's a persona-building tool that turns "I think I know my audience" into something you can actually point to on a page.

When to use it: Before any high-stakes conversation where you need to persuade or influence. Pitching to a new stakeholder, presenting to a board you don't know well, preparing for a negotiation, onboarding into a new organisation and trying to read the room. It's also a strong team exercise: have everyone fill one out independently for the same audience, then compare. The gaps between versions tell you where your assumptions are weakest.

How to get the most out of it: Don't guess. The whole point is to move beyond assumptions, so base your answers on real observation wherever you can. What have you actually heard this person say? What pressures do you know they're facing? The Pain and Gain sections at the bottom are where the real insight lives. Fears, frustrations, and challenges on one side; wants, needs, and measures of success on the other. If you fill out the map and realise you can't confidently complete a section, that's useful information too. It means you need to learn more before you walk into the room.