11 What are your two top wishes at the moment? A pain point is any problem that upsets the consumers, something they want solved. DREAMS AND EMPATHY The importance of dreams Every human being has dreams, every day, big or small. Dreaming, wishing is essential. It is what makes us go on with our life, what prompts us into waking up in the morning, it is the goal we strive to achieve, be it I wish I could get home earlier than usual or I wish I had enough money to buy that house . We all have needs to fulfil, and once our basic needs are satisfied, we unleash our wants, our dreams. They help us find pleasure in what we do or find the reason to keep doing what we are doing, they are the engine that makes us live and brings us forward. What does dreaming have to do with communication? Well, companies who want to engage their consumers must be able to speak to their dreams, to that internal creator of goals to be pursued. Maslow s pyramid of needs According to the American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow (1908-1970), we all have needs, which can be represented in a pyramid shape with basic needs at its base, and complex needs at the top. The higher the needs are in the pyramid, the more evolved they are, but, at the same time, the more sought after once the ones on the previous levels are satisfied. Businesses aim at communicating to consumers and creating a relationship with them by making them believe they can help them satisfy their needs at any level and fulfil their dreams. 32 COMMUNICATION AND PSYCHOLOGY Empathic communication To do that, companies not only need to know precisely what consumer needs and dreams are information they collect through big data , but also to make consumers believe they are the key to achieving them. This can be done by showing, for example, empathy. Empathy is a skill of emotional intelligence which refers to the ability of taking the point of view of others, entering their world, and seeing what they see. When marketers make consumers relate to their brand by addressing their needs in the hope of satisfying them and making them believe they can help relieve their pain points , emphatic communication is achieved, and these brands resonate with their consumers and succeed in engaging them. engine: motore to prompt: spingere to relate to: relazionarsi to relieve: alleviare sought after: ricercato to strive: sforzarsi to unleash: liberare