What is rapport?
Have you ever had the experience of meeting someone for just a short period of time and naturally getting along with him or her, even though the person looked like someone you might not like? Or, in talking to this person, you discovered that you shared few-if any-of the same opinions? Yet, you felt good about them.
Turn this around. You meet someone you sense you will get along with immediately; or a friend introduces you to someone he or she just knows you’ll get along with. Shortly after meeting the person, you dislike him or her, or you’re indifferent at best.
What is going on here? In a word, rapport.
Rapport is the state shared by two or more individual whose behavior, thinking and values come into alignment, regardless of the “content’ of their desired objectives or outcomes. Regardless of the context or objectives, rapport is the interpersonal glue that enables cross functional and cross cultural business success.
So what have your experiences of rapport been? Have you found you get along with someone that, “logically”, just doesn’t make sense? Or that “perfect match” on paper turns out be a one way ticket to disaster? How has rapport affected your career? Your sales transactions? Your personal performance? Let me know.
For the latest on applying the tools of rapport making to business, download my recent Webinar through HRDQ The Dynamics of Rapport.
