memes

And then what happened?
That must be really hard for you.
Wow. You don’t deserve that.
How do you feel about it now?
Ugh. That sounds awful.
You’re handling this better than I would.
How do you even respond to that?
Tell me about it.
What can I do to help?
You’ve got this, but I’m here.

Edit: I wrote the above to illustrate how many options there are in the parlance of active listening. The formula is simple: imagine how they feel and join their side or, if you can’t yet imagine, ask questions until you can. That’s it.

"Frankly, you brought this all on yourself" usually resolves it quickly, in my experience.

That sucks. Definitely push the last one. This happened to me one time in band camp

"Its not that bad stop being a pussy" Works 30% of the time everytime.

Empathize, "I can imagine how much that must have hurt, I'm sorry you had to deal with that"

Or maybe ask what they need from you? Just a thought.

"That's rough buddy."

There is a secret fourth option that requires the player to cancel the dialogue and just perform an action:

Give hug

“I can’t say I would’ve known what to do, had I been in your position.”

“I can only imagine what that must have been like for you, which understandably likely isn’t of much consolation to you.”

“It would be disingenuous of me to presume to know what it was like for you to have experienced what you endured, but I am happy to listen to what you have to say, if you wish to tell me.”

4: "I can help you hide the body if you want."

“What can I do to help?”

"Cool story bro, did I ever tell you about that time I took an arrow to the knee?..."

That sucks.

"Stop trauma dumping on me, do I look like a licensed therapist?"

"that's crazy"

I can't tell whether this is supposed to be advice on what to do or not. I can certainly see people getting upset at all of them for putting your feelings and perspective at the forefront however.

"I'm sorry for your loss. Move on."

"It's not like you've lost a pen, is it? It's so much worse... Would you like a pen? I have a spare one. ...Please take it."

Tell a related story is best choice because it shows that you really feel what that person is coming through since you've came through similar situation yourself