During contact with them (whether that is face to face or remotely):
4 Pay attention to how they communicate as much if not more
than to what they communicate.
5 What is significant about their:
❏ Behavior?
❏ Language?
❏ Body language?
Pick one of the above to concentrate on.
6 Match the element you have chosen.
7 By being similar to this person, what do you detect as being
important to them? (For example time, silence, integrity,
immediacy, innovation, decisiveness, action, strategic
thinking, acknowledgment of feelings, sense preference
(visual/auditory/feelings), etc.
8 How are you/can you respect this aspect that is important to
them?
9 Monitor how the connection between you strengthens.
10 What else can you do to build the rapport even further?
After the interaction:
11 How would you evaluate the strength of the connection
between you?
12 What made a difference?
13 What else could you have done/could you do in future
interactions?
Rapport has become a vital skill on which to pin the success of
your business. Through your ability to build rapport you can
help other people feel at ease in your company—they choose to
be with you because you make it easy for them to be so. People
relate to you and the services you offer because they feel you
are sympathetic to their needs. Even if you are not technically
perfect, the rapport you have with the people with whom you
live and work determines the lasting nature of the relationship.
By building rapport you build trust and understanding.
DEVELOP A CLIMATE OF TRUST: RAPPORT 305
SUMMARY