Creating Rapport through Mirroring and Matching

We’re all familiar with Tony Robbins and some of us are also familiar with the concept of creating rapport through mirroring and matching.

This is the idea that you can develop a rapport by being “like” the other person in conversation.

For instance, you’re creating rapport with someone …

… If you personally meet up with them at a restaurant and he or she leans forward during the conversation, mimic them by leaning forward.

If they cross their legs, cross your legs.

… If you hear them speak over the phone in a monotone voice, speak with a monotone voice yourself.

If they sound agitated, you sound agitated.

Basically, if you want to establish rapport, you adapt yourself to the preferences of the other person whom you are in conversation with.

You can connect with anyone and build instant rapport by mirroring and matching them in…

• Body language
• Voice inflection
• Pacing speech
• Hand gestures
• Eye contact
• Facial expressions
• Personal space

The purpose of mirroring and matching is to quickly build relationships and get your point across in even the most difficult situations.

Develop a Rapport with Someone with Network Marketing

Creating rapport through mirroring and matching is important.

It’s important because you can’t expect any person to pay attention to you if you haven’t connected with them first.

The first impression the other person gets about you either from a personal encounter or over the phone is through your body language and speech.

These subconsciously tell the other person if you can be trusted.

Whether the scope of creating rapport is in your personal or network marketing life, successful relationships depend on your ability to build and maintain rapport with others.

To define rapport building in network marketing is as simple as listening for ways to help a prospect with their wants, needs, pains and desires.

Or

It can be as complex as knowing the right words to say and the right body language to express.

For instance, let’s look at this scenario…

I was invited to a home for a meeting about my MLM opportunity.

After a bit of pleasantry in our conversation with each other, I finally was able to get out of this person what was really bugging him.

Suddenly that pleasantry turned to irritability.

Hands were flying, his voice raised, and words became bitter while explaining to me what it was that is cutting him to the quick.

He explained to me in the most irritable voice that he couldn’t afford the mortgage on the house anymore because his JOB had reduced his hours.

What did I do?

Did I try to speak calmly to him while he was raising his voice and getting angry at his situation?

No! Absolutely not.

I too chimed in raising my voice and using my hands to express disgust at the crappy hand that his employer had dealt him.

I followed along with his same hand movements, eye contact and tonal voice quality.

What do you think happened?

He joined!

I was creating rapport with him through mirroring and matching tone for tone, hand gesture for hand gesture and attitude for attitude.

He saw it as my affirmation to his plight, my acknowledgement and sympathy to his problems.

It affirmed to him I was his friend and not only was going to be there for him but going to help him with a solution to his problem.

I was creating rapport through mirroring and matching.

How do you establish rapport with a prospect?

Building rapport is as easy as making contact with small talk, asking questions to find their problems and their desires.

It’s about helping them solve their problems.

It also is meeting them one-on-one with body language, voice inflection, pacing speech, hand gestures, eye contact, facial expressions and personal space.