Create rapport by observing
Most people will tell you a great deal simply by their body language. Through their body language, they give away a wealth of information without saying a word. This information is key to helping create rapport with them.
Think about how your body responds to angry and rude people or happy and polite people. Think about how your body language changes toward people who encourage and flatter you. For example, how do you stand, hold your head, where are your hands, and what about your facial expressions? It’s tough to fake body language as they are subconscious reactions.
So, next time you are in the company of some people, pay attention to what they do with their hands, where they look, or how they hold their bodies. You will soon learn what body language fits with what situation. These subconscious cues will help you understand how the person represents the world internally to help you create rapport more quickly.
By listening carefully to the person, you will determine what NLP “type” they are, and then match their language, establishing rapport.
In NLP, there are three “types” of people, Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic. When you can determine the person’s preferred communication “type”, you will create rapport with them deliberately.
Visual people will say, “I can see how that would work”, or “I am getting a clearer picture now”.
An auditory person may say something like, “I understand you loud and clear” or “Now that you’ve voiced your opinion, may I tell you what would resonate with me?”
A kinaesthetic person may say something like, “That feels great to me”, or I am grasping what you are saying to me”.
Please note, these are preferred modes of communication; they are not necessarily exclusive. Interestingly kinesthetic people make up around 40% of the preferred communication method, while visuals are about 35% and auditory 25%.
In summary: Being aware of the words people use will reveal a great deal about how they sense/experience the world around them, giving you the perfect opportunity to create rapport and finally connect with them on their home ground.