How To Be More Assertive: Part 8
It is easier to get what you need from someone (and to find out what they need) if you have a good rapport with someone. That involves:
- Using active listening skills to hear what they are saying.
- Making empathetic statements, that demonstrate you understand their situation and needs.
- Asking them questions about their views, or the problems they see, or the reservations they have
- Finding things that you have in common and talking about them
- Dealing with them face to face (not by telephone or email) and looking them in the eye
- Taking an interest in the whole person, and their wider interests, not just their work or the task they are currently working on.
Building rapport is analogous to strengthening a bridge over a river: the stronger the bridge, the more it can carry. That is, the better rapport that you have in a relationship with someone, the more you can ask of them.
How To Be More Assertive:
Part 9: Focus on Facts