EAR stands for Empathy, Attention, and Respect, which may not be what you have in mind if someone is flipping out over something. Such a statement connects the person’s experience and their emotions. If you’re attacked for not returning a phone call fast enough, you could fight back, or you could say something such as, “I can hear how upset you are. What’s going on? I share your concerns and respect your efforts to solve it.” This statement includes,

• “I can hear how upset you are.” (empathy)
• “What’s going on?” (attention)
• “I respect your efforts.” (respect)

Empathy isn’t sympathy.  Empathy means you can feel their pain and frustration. If you show empathy you’re treating the other as a peer you are concerned about, and you relate to the person as an equal. Statements showing empathy can be something like,

• “I understand how important this is to you.”
• “I know this can be frustrating.”