[taeric]

I think the catch is that empathy is a large part of good social skills. And is something a lot of "socially awkward" folks are lacking. When you have a massive inability to understand the person on the other end of the conversation, it is not surprising when you learn to ignore them. That is, be an asshole.

[djKianoosh]

Definitely! empathy is such an underrated skill for consultants (use the term broadly, anyone who provides a service to another). If you can't understand, via basic communication, the other person, how can you hope to serve them?