Communicating with Rapport

& Interpersonal
Communication

Rene C. de Torres
 What is Rapport?
It is a connection or relationship with
someone else. It can be considered as a
state of harmonious understanding with
another individual or group. Building
rapport is the process of developing that
connection with someone else.
 What is Rapport?

Rapport, is basically an
emotional connection with
other people.
 Why Does Rapport Matter?

Rapport is important in both our

professional and personal lives.
It is much easier to build rapport with
someone who is very like you, or who shares a
lot of your interests.
 Break the Ice
For many, starting a conversation
with a stranger is a stressful event. We
may be lost for words, and awkward
with our body language and
mannerisms.
When you meet somebody for the
first time, there are some easy things
that you can do to reduce the tension.
This will help both of you to feel more
relaxed and communicate more
effectively. These include:
1. Use non-threatening and ‘safe
topics’ for initial small talk.
2. Listen to what the other person is
saying and look for shared
experiences or circumstances. 
3. Try to inject an element of humor.
4. Be conscious of your body language and other
non-verbal signals you are sending. 
5. Show some empathy. 

"Make sure the other person feels included but not

interrogated during initial conversations. Just as you may
feel tense and uneasy meeting and talking to somebody
new, so may they."
 Non-Verbal Rapport Building
• Initial conversations can help us to relax.
However, quite a lot of rapport-building
happens without words and through non-
verbal communication channels.
• We create rapport instinctively. It is our
natural defense from conflict, which most of
us will try hard to avoid most of the time.
 Helpful Rapport Building
Behaviors
• There are certain behaviors that are
particularly helpful in building rapport.
These include:
If you are sitting, then lean towards the person you
are talking to, with hands open and arms and legs
uncrossed. This is open body language and will help
you and the person you are talking to feel more
relaxed.
Look at the other person for approximately 60% of
the time. Give plenty of eye-contact but be careful not
to make them feel uncomfortable.
When listening, nod and make encouraging
sounds and gestures.
Smile!
Use the other person’s name early in the
conversation. This is not only seen as polite but will
also reinforce the name in your mind so you are less
likely to forget it!
Try to ask the other person open questions (the type
of questions that require more than a yes or no
answer). These questions are more comfortable to
answer, because you are not being put on the spot to
give a clear opinion.
• Use feedback to summarize, reflect and clarify back
to the other person what you think they have said. This
gives opportunity for any misunderstandings to be
rectified quickly.
• Talk about things that refer back to what the other
person has said. Find links between common
experiences.
• Try to show empathy. Demonstrate that you can
understand how the other person feels and can see
things from their point of view.
When in agreement with the other
person, openly say so and say why.
Build on the other person’s ideas.
Be non-judgemental towards the other
person. Let go of stereotypes and any
preconceived ideas you may have about the
person.
If you have to disagree with the other person, give the
reason first, then say you disagree.
Admit when you don’t know the answer or have made a
mistake. Being honest is always the best tactic, and
acknowledging mistakes will help to build trust.
Be genuine, with visual and verbal behaviors working
together to maximize the impact of your communication.
Offer compliments, avoid criticism and be polite.
 "Being able to build rapport consciously is
therefore extremely useful both personally and
professionally. As a skill, it means that you can
build relationships faster, and improve
communication more rapidly. Your working
relationships will be more effective, and your
personal relationships will be stronger as a
result."
 Interpersonal Communication Skills

• Interpersonal communication skills are

the life skills we use every day to
communicate and interact with other
people, both individually and in groups.
 Interpersonal communication
can be used to:
give and collect information
influence the attitudes and behaviour of others
network (create contacts), build and/or maintain
relationships
express personal needs and understand the needs of others
give and receive emotional support
make decisions and solve problems
anticipate and predict behavior.
 Four steps to effectively
communicate a message
Focus your message
Magnify the listener’s attention
Limit any distractions (noise)
Listening
 Listening
• There are three types of listening:
• Passive – one-way communication, typical of a
classroom setting where there is little interaction
with the listener.
• Competitive – when the person is not really
listening closely, they are busy thinking about
their response, this happens when people ‘talk
past each other’.
 Listening
• Active – genuine two-way communication.
You are listening intently, thinking about the
information to make sure you understand it,
and providing feedback to the speaker to
clarify what you don’t understand.
Techniques to assist Active Listening
•Clarify
•Restating, paraphrasing, or mirroring
•Summarising
 Potential Challenges and
Suggested Strategies

•Unintended messages
•Broken trust
• Lack of clarity
 Potential Challenges and
Suggested Strategies

• Poor interpersonal skills

•Inability to create rapport