8 Ways To Build Rapport With Your Team
Rapport is people’s ability to relate.
It allows people to be empathetic towards each other’s feelings and communicate well.
Some people are gifted at it, but everyone can improve on it!
So why is it so important?
Rapport will make your colleagues and bosses more receptive to your business ideas.
This will make your job more enjoyable for you and everyone else you interact with.
Let’s look at eight easy ways to build rapport at work.
8 Ways To Build Rapport
Building rapport doesn’t have to be as difficult as you might imagine it to be.
1. Find out what you have in common.
Think of someone you’re trying to build a relationship with.
Maybe you both went to the same school or enjoy the same activities.
You can probably find something in common with anyone if you try hard enough.
You can then use this to build a foundation for communication.
2. Talk about your family life.
Discussing family life is a fantastic way of taking a business relationship to the next level.
Maybe you have children of the same age, or you both have parents with the same hobbies?
If this is the case, you can empathise with each other’s daily challenges and triumphs!
Rapport building is about more than just work.
Building relationships is an important part of life as well as business.
3. Find out what they hate or are afraid of.
Shared negative experiencse often brings people together.
It gives you something powerful to bond over.
This can be even more effective than having something positive in common.
This will help you build a good rapport and a harmonious relationship with the people you work with.
4. See if you have shared goals.
We often have passions and goals that we feel we can’t share with other people.
Finding common dreams creates a strong bond.
This is even better if your shared goals are something niche or quirky, like wanting to break a silly world record!
Finding people that align well with your work goals always builds good relationships.
5. Copy their body language.
Research has shown that we respond better when someone acts like us.
Mirroring body language is a powerful psychological tool for bonding with someone.
This doesn’t mean that you need to copy their every move!
Just look for things like the way they sit and whether they gesture while talking.
Maintain eye contact in a way that seems to make them relax, rather than overdoing it.
This is also a key skill to master to interview well, in addition to helping develop rapport!
6. Talk about shared hobbies and skills.
We all love to talk about our hobbies, particularly when they are things that not everyone is interested in.
Even if you don’t have exactly the same interests, enagage with people when they discuss theirs.
You may even end up doing these activities together!
7. Discuss food likes and dislikes.
What we eat is another subject that we all love to talk about when connecting with others.
In many cultures, people connect during meals, and food is an important part of socialising.
A great way to increase rapport is asking people their favourite recipes and telling them yours.
8. Enjoy talking about things that make you feel awkward or unique.
We all have things that we don’t usually tell people until we develop a lot of trust.
This could be considered oversharing if it’s too soon in the relationship.
But if done with the right timing, this will build great rapport.
For example, you can be honest about how you feel really awkward in meetings.
Being vulnerable is a powerful thing, but check the other person’s reaction to see if they can really relate.
If they do, that’s great – you’ve just built an excellent rapport.
Having good rapport will also help you to increase and understand your workplace power!
Can Rapport Be Lost?
No matter how hard you work at building rapport, it can be lost pretty easily if you make a wrong move.
One of the most obvious ways is if you are caught lying to them or talking about them behind their back.
Your relationship can also slowly be eroded over time due to a lack of contact or poor communication.
Even a strong sense of rapport with someone else may not last long once you are no longer talking to them every relatively frequently.
Good rapport is an ongoing process. It is not a ‘one and done’ thing.
Learning to build rapport is particularly important for line managers trying to build the motivation of their team.
Re-Building Lost Rapport
So, what should you do if the rapport you have with someone has been lost?
The good news is that you can easily recover the bond that has been broken.
Just go back to what we looked at earlier in terms of the tips to build rapport in the first place.
Do the right things to re-establish your credibility and recover the trust that has been lost.
You should find that you can start connecting with them once again.
Conclusion
The best piece of advice for creating rapport is to be genuine and honest at all times.
Building rapport with someone should be a positive experience that enhances their day and your day.
For more on this topic, read our assertiveness tips for managers here!
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