Rapport: How to Create, Maintain, Regain

We humans rank social interaction pretty high on our list of basic needs. Ask anyone who’s been in solitary confinement. The goal of any interaction, for those who seek it, is a pleasant outcome, i.e. a feeling of validation plus a dose of intellectual stimulation. The route to that outcome is via rapport.

Rapport is the amiable connection we feel when talking to someone we like, the ‘vibe’ that stimulates our brain, and sometimes more. Who hasn’t felt that satisfying flow while conversing with someone ‘on the same wavelength’? This flow leads to connections.

Rapport helps influence the tempo and direction of the encounter and, when done correctly, smoothens out any wrinkles along the way. In fact, Dale Carnegie’s famous recipe for winning friends and influencing people was rapport; you can look it up: {“How to Win Friends and Influence People”}.

We'll talk about getting into rapport, maintaining it and, if we screw up, how to get it back.