‘If you want to win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend’ – Abraham Lincoln
Have you ever been in a situation where you meet someone for the first time and after a few minutes talk feel as if you are more like friends than strangers. if you have the same fuse on a particular issues, similar backgrounds, or something else in common then you are building rapport.
How far is the ability to get one the right things with someone. It is the ability to be able to enter someone’s worldviews and make them feel you understand them. It is about establishing an atmosphere of trust and responsiveness.
You can either emphasize the differences or to emphasize the similarities. Establishing rapport is very difficult with people if they only emphasize the differences.
People with good interpersonal skills create rapport and rapport create trust
Here are some tips:
- Listen to the kinds of words and phrases the other person uses, and try to incorporate them into your conversation
- Be sensitive to the level of vocabulary
- Avoid using your own speech any jargon which other person does not understand
- Attempt to match the other person’s body language sensitively and with respect
- Put your body position in a similar position to the other person’
- Emphasize similarities and differences
- Knowing how to response effectively to a variety of situation takes skills and practice
(Source : Interpersonal Skills, Astrid French)
