February 14, 2023
Written by UJJI Team
“Rapport is the ability to enter someone else’s world, to make him feel that you understand him, that you have a strong common bond.”
— Tony Robbins
To grasp what a rapport is, let’s look at the following scenarios. A customer enters a hairstylist shop. The shop has lots of similarly skilled workers on standby. On getting there, the customer finds two empty seats, which means two workers are available. Still, instead of taking one of the seats to get attended to, the customer decides to wait until one of the engaged workers is free before getting the hairdo. And you know what, the customer wouldn’t mind waiting if there was someone else in line. The next scenario will be in a more relatable setting, like the office. The management calls a meeting, and in that meeting, tasks will be given, so the staff is asked to place themselves into groups. There, you notice some people always wanting to work together to the point that you might even call them a clique. They always ensure that they are together and do their best to maintain it.
These two scenarios of client-worker and worker-worker is a brief illustration of what rapport is. The people involved in a rapport have a better understanding of one another, and it is safe to say that they trust themselves. Yes, rapport is the result you get when your relationship with someone, either at work or otherwise, is born of trust for one another. For example, the customer in the scenario trusts that the service will yield maximum satisfaction because it’s their favourite person who’s doing the work. They also know that the person knows enough about them, their likes and dislikes, taste or style, etc., and will make for them, the perfect style. Therefore, they won’t have to be alert, always looking at the mirror so that things won’t go south.
One might ask, how did it happen? How did they get that close to having that level of understanding?
The answer people often have to that question is, “I don’t know how it happened.” The thing is that they didn’t notice. However, here are some things you can do to build rapport with the people you interact with daily easily.
The first thing you must always watch is your appearance. Our site has a great deal in determining our perceptions, and if you can look attractive, then without having to say anything, you already have an audience. The tip here is to dress appropriately for the occasion while looking cool at it.
If you have been able to make it that far, don’t stop there. Work on your basic people skills like verbal and non-verbal communication, a smile, active listening, empathy, and so on.
Finally, find common ground, a topic or concept for which you both agree, and there you have it; you’re on the path to becoming the person everyone wants to work with as a team or in collaboration.
Want to learn more about how to unlock your team’s full potential in spite of your fast paced environment?
UJJI’s easy and fun e-learning experience helps teams develop skills around problem solving, productivity, communications, leadership and adaptability. Check out this short video or book a demo with our team now!
