Many people are feeling awkward and worried about returning to work and meeting friends, family, clients, colleagues, and associates.
Since April mental health issues have quadrupled with suicides, OCD, relationship breakdowns, social anxieties, loss, and grief are just a few listed here has increased ten folds. This pandemic’s effects will be seen for a long time and we need to be understanding of each other and your self and your needs, as well as the organisations and businesses that are still fortunate enough to be here.
Here are some tips and suggestions to help ease and build rapport when you’re returning to work and having the need to socialise going back to some ‘normality’.
Breathe: Breathwork is a very powerful healing tool and there are many techniques to resolve difficult situations, events, and health problems. I recommend the box breath technique for when you require a quick fix to bring you back to the present, release the fear and anxiety before it takes hold in you.
Imagine a square box. Take a slow deep breath from the belly to the top of your head for a count of 7, hold for a count of 7, breathe out for a count of 7, hold for a count of 7 and continue the cycle of breath 7 times. (Use your fingers to keep count). Immediately you will experience a change of state.
Being in the other person’s shoes: When your meeting friends, family, colleagues, clients etc, and in your general day to day interactions with people, think what it might be like for the other person, their behaviour and what they say may not come out as you would expect. Think about whether you are judging them from your perspective, your experience, and your expectations. Unfortunately, they are not you try and be in their shoes.
NLP rapport building: Matching & mirroring is an important step to connecting with another. Key skills to communicating and building rapport are not just for leaders, but everyone can help build strong bonds with another, and here’s three to focus on.
1. Breathing and pacing exactly at the same pace and tempo as the other person you are engaging with or standing next to will guarantee you to feel what the other person is feeling without them knowing what you are doing you are in fact connecting and building a rapport with.
2. 65% of our communication is physiological. By mirroring a person’s posture, hand gesture, or having the legs crossed will help make the other person feel comfortable and connected. (Remember, not to mirror everything, just one or two postures that are comfortable to you), will make a huge difference in bonding.
3. Words and voice tonality and paraphrasing in common communicates understanding, not repeating everything but just taking a few keywords and increasing or lowering your tone of voice to match the person you are addressing will feel heard and listened to.
Thanks for reading so far, do reach out your thoughts, have a question, or I how can help.