Before we can get into the mechanics of rapport building there's one vital step you must take. That is to commit to the act of building rapport. By that we mean you have to have the right attitude and dedicate yourself to building rapport whenever you can, with whoever you can.

We've established that reciprocity is the foundation of rapport and being present to the person you're speaking with is what creates the connection. It therefore follows that in order to maintain rapport, you have to be focused on the other person.

We'd like you to undertake an exercise. It's simply one of observation. The next meeting or event you attend, observe the interactions that are taking place. Which ones are working and which ones aren't? Try to identify the reasons.

When we're not present to the person we're speaking to, rapport becomes a fragile thing...

Sticking with the notion of becoming conscious of the mechanics of rapport and developing the right attitude, this video looks at why rapport is such a big part of human communication.

It's important to build your questioning skills because questions are the fuel that keeps a conversation going. In addition, they're the element that drives reciprocity. If you ask someone a question, you're demonstrating an interest in them. That in turn will lead them to want to engage more wit...

By listening empathically, you understand more about the person you're talking to. By understanding more, you're more insightful in the conversation. And it's this sense of insight that creates strong connections.

Many people confuse the act of listening with hearing, but hearing doesn't mean you're necessarily listening.

A question asked and then answered by the questioner is a rapport killer and gives the impression of selfishness.

Remembering someone's name and saying it in conversation is a simple, yet highly effective way of building rapport. But why is that?

Here are some simple techniques for remembering names.

In the second half of this course we're going to explore the physical elements of rapport building. Before we do, let's recap on the key points from the course so far.

American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, 'Your actions speak so loud, I cannot hear what you are saying.' Never has a truer word been said about the power of non-verbal communication, or body language, as it's better known.

To achieve the right level of energy you need to assess the character and personality style of the person or people you're speaking to. Then think about your own style. How can you flex it to achieve balance with them?

When someone smiles, it often puts us at ease. We feel that if a person is smiling at us they're happy and comfortable. And if they're happy and comfortable, then we should be too. It's an incredibly quick win in the rapport building process, yet so many people fail to employ it.

We've explored the need to adopt the right level of energy in a conversation, and often it's the voice that delivers that energy. Too monotone or quiet and we struggle to stay in the conversation. To create engagement, you need to use tonal variation.

There's an old proverb that says the eyes are the window to the soul. Throughout classical and modern scientific study, the eyes have been recognised as highly sophisticated communication tools.

How do you build rapport with senior people? Or let's just call them 'people'. Because that's the first thing to recognise. They may have seniority in a business, but first and foremost, they're people.

Email is a totally man-made solution to communicate across time and space. Because there's no visual or vocal connection, it's easy to lose humanity when we communicate like this, but that doesn't have to be the case.

Building rapport when you're in the same room as the other person is one thing. It's a somewhat different matter if they're halfway across the world. As communication technology becomes more sophisticated, more of us are having virtual meetings and conversations...

For many people their primary business communication tool is the telephone. Entire working relationships can be conducted without ever meeting someone and this is particularly true of international relationships.

Rapport is not something that happens overnight. Certainly there are people you click with almost immediately, but for the majority you need to get to know them and build connections over time. That's why rapport building is a long-term investment.

This final video from the building rapport course is an excellent summary of all the takeaways.