Awareness and acknowledgment is the ability that enables you to understand and validate the other person's feelings, without agreeing with them. When the person is very expressive through body language, facial expressions, or other non-verbal cues, you can easily be aware of how they are feeling. However, for the less expressive, you need to ask questions, read between the lines of what they are saying and use trial and error until you get to the point where you understand how they are feeling. Once you have a grasp on how someone is feeling, you need to acknowledge their feelings. Acknowledgment does not equal agreement--it means that you are recognizing the other person's position and empathizing with it. By doing so, you show that you are sensitive to how they feel and you value their feelings.