Maybe a cooler and more nuanced way to interpret telepathy would be through shapes and colours. Like you can't hear someone elses thoughts but you CAN read their intensity and vibe So you can tell someone is distressed or happy but what it causing that is less specific or requires more concentration

Y'all might enjoy a podcast called "The Bright Sessions" It follows a therapist who helps and treats people with powers. Two of the main characters have types of telepathy, one is more traditional mind reading, the other is the more emotion based type like you described!