- What are your most important goals for the next six months or year?
- What work issues keep you up at night?
- What do you anticipate being the major challenges your company / department will face in the next year?
- What’s the most gratifying aspect of your job?
The right rapport-building questions give others permission to take the emotional space needed for trust to deepen.
The power of rapport is immense. It holds the key to opening up people, allowing you to get your points across clearly and being taken seriously.
In order for others to see your true, authentic self they have to feel safe. Rapport provides that feeling of safety.
Sometimes rapport building is simply about putting people at ease and letting their guard down, creating a level playing field on which you can work together to find solutions that work for everyone concerned.
In a professional setting, rapport is equally important. Rapport building questions are used not just to establish a relationship, but determine how a person operates, including how they tend to think, feel, or react, so that you can match your behavior to suit their demeanor.
You will want to build rapport during customer meetings, sales calls, 1:1 meetings with a manager, and just generally with people that you work with often.
Rapport building allows you to learn about the other persons needs so that your actions can be congruent with theirs.
Many rapport builders are also compliance builders â they help people want to do what you ask â but not all rapport questions lead to compliance. Some simply serve the purpose of connecting people in a positive way that makes further communication easier and more efficient.
With this in mind here are 10 rapport-building questions you can use when communicating with others.
The right questions can help build rapport quickly and easily because they give others permission to open up about themselves, which gives them the emotional space needed for trust to deepen. They allow us to connect with other people in meaningful ways beyond simply exchanging facts. Rapport building questions create connection, empathy and understanding quickly.
When used correctly rapport building questions can make all the difference between getting what you want or not.
They will help you create rapport with people in both personal and professional settings, including people that you dont know that well yet.
5 Easy Rapport Building Steps to Make Interviewers Like You and Hire You
During interviews
It can also be helpful to build rapport with the people you meet during the hiring process. From meeting the receptionist at the front desk to the recruiter to your interviewers, starting to build relationships with these people can increase your chances of getting the job. The better you can form personal connections, the more employers will be able to get a holistic understanding of who you are and the value you can bring to their company.
To build rapport during interviews, follow the lead of the interviewer. If they seem busy and prefer concise, to-the-point answers, do not try to fit additional conversation into the interview. If the interviewer starts your meeting with casual conversation, use this time to begin building a relationship. Answer their questions and ask questions back in return. While you should avoid personal topics, such as religion and politics, it can be appropriate to find topics or hobbies of common interest. You should take an actual interest in the interviewer. Active listening and attentive body language such as eye contact can help form a genuine connection.
In the workplace
There are several ways you can begin to build rapport in your current workplace. You will likely naturally form connections with some coworkers while others may require more effort. Either way, here are some ways you can build rapport in the workplace:
Building rapport with people can help you to understand how they work, their likes and dislikes and how to best communicate with them. While building rapport is a skill you will continue to build throughout your career, there are a few steps you can take now to advance your professional relationships.
Why is building rapport important?
Building rapport is important because it can help you advance your career by developing relationships. Here are some relationships that can benefit from good rapport:
To help you prepare for your next job interview, here are 20 interview questions and answer examples focused on your communication skills.
Communication was written by Rachelle Enns and updated on April 19th, 2019. Learn more here.
The interviewer would like to know your methods when it comes to getting to know your customers and building trust with them. When you have a great relationship with the stakeholders, you will be more successful in your work and more likely to stay longer-term. Some ways that you can build rapport with your clients include: – Do what you say that you will – Ask them questions about themselves – Use the same jargon and industry terms they use – Set clear expectations, on both sides, from the start – Remember their names – Show your extensive knowledge base – Always be presentable in looks and actions
Written by Rachelle Enns on August 10th, 2018
“To build client rapport, I ensure always to do what I say that I will. My clients need to be able to rely on me, and feel 100% confident that I will deliver over and above their expectations at all times.”
Written by Rachelle Enns on August 10th, 2018
“In my current organization, I am usually the first person that a potential new client sees. To build rapport, I make sure always to look and act presentable. First impressions truly are everything! I am always friendly, available to help, and with a smile. If I do not know the answer to their question, I will go the extra mile to find out, rather than saying I dont know.”
“The fastest way to build rapport with my clients is to always deliver on time and a better product or service than they initially expected. When a client can trust that you have their back, they will give you more business and tell others about you in return.”
“I am a naturally curious person which means that I often build a rapport with my clients by asking them questions about themselves. I like to know about their business, their career path, family, hobbies, and how they got to where they are today. Most people enjoy talking about themselves, so this approach is usually a very successful one.”
“I find in fashion, and retail in general, employees will use subjective terms that clients do not understand. When I am explaining the features of a product or garment, I like to use terms that the clients would use, and understand. I feel that speaking on the customers level of understanding is a fast way to build a rapport with them.”
“The number one rule of sales, and building a solid rapport with your client base, is to remember! Remember their names, their kids names, important dates, where they went on vacation, and their favorite lunch spot. When you remember details, it shows that you care. This approach has never failed me.”
“Building rapport with my students and their parents is crucial to me. By displaying that I care, and showing the expertise that I have in the areas of Science and Spanish, the students are more willing to listen to what I have to say. In turn, the parents are more collaborative when it comes to homework assignments, and times when I may ask the students to study a little bit harder.”
“I build rapport with my clients by delivering the product on time, making sure that they can trust me by forming a type of dialogue, and making sure I make notes regarding their specifications. I am also extremely polite, gentle, and calm. They can be assured that their product will be delivered.”
Written by an Anonymous User
Our Professional Interview CoachRachelle Enns Reviewed the Above Answer
It sounds as though you give an incredible client experience””excellent steps for building rapport and trust.
2 “What can I do to make your day better?”
This is one of the most powerful rapport questions because it demonstrates genuine interest in what is important to another person. It also opens up the opportunity for them to feel appreciated and take pride in what they can offer â a powerful combination.
1 “What brings you here today?”
The word here is a great word to use because it implies that the both of you are in the same place, even if youre not actually physically together. This rapport building question shows that youre keen to find out more about the other persons experience and that youre open to learning from them.
FAQ
What is an example of a rapport building interview question?
How do you build rapport in an interview?
- Show interest and empathy. Give some thought before and during the meeting to the interviewer’s priorities and goals. …
- Observe and adjust. …
- Be genuine, be yourself. …
- Start a conversation. …
- Show gratitude, enthusiasm.
What are the 3 skills of building rapport?
What are the 4 elements of rapport?
