When someone asks you "How are you?", do you answer only with "Fine." or "Not well.", or do you know how to say exactly how you feel? The expression "emotional literacy" refers to the capability of every person to recognize how they feel and why. Emotional literacy also enables you to understand the feelings of others. This ability helps us in understanding and interpreting the world around us, and in that way aids us in nurturing friendships and family relationships.
Empathy is the ability of a person to become engaged in the emotional states of another person and understand the position in which that person finds themselves in, for example, the suffering of the person... It’s the ability of "imagining yourself in another person’s place" or "putting oneself in someone else’s shoes".
If it seems to you that you don’t know how to stand up for yourself or that your friends always misunderstand you, try "I" statements. "I" statements are a way of communication we use to stand up for ourselves, while not attacking anyone. By using them we express our feelings, needs and desires, but also we show an understanding of the feelings, needs, and desires of others. These kinds of messages used in a conversation help us be better "heard" and understood, and decrease the possibility of confrontation. By using "I" statements you are not blaming the other person or labelling them as "stupid", "lazy", "clumsy", "lame", "always late" and similar... For example, instead of saying to a friend who is often late when you’re going together to school: "You are getting on my nerves, you are always late, and I’ve already told you that cannot happen again!", you can try this: "When you’re late, I feel bad because I worry we will be late for school. I would like you to come on time, as we’ve planned."