THE POWER OF RAPPORT

Shilpa Bhasim Mehra

Rapport is a subject that is often overlooked, yet it is critical to success, whatever your field maybe. It has been defined in the Oxford dictionary to mean, a relationship of a harmonious kind. It is the ability to establish a trusting and long term relationship founded on mutual honesty and integrity. In the legal profession, it is of paramount importance to have a good rapport with your clients, as well as with your colleagues. In today's world of network marketing, the key is to make yourself a better “people's person”.

Many of us have a tendency to push too hard or demand what we want from someone without establishing the necessary rapport. More often than not, this is considered as a premature and overzealous act, which will eventually backfire on you and drive people away. They will see you as arrogant and condescending and not considerate at all.

The first step to establishing a rapport is to assume that you do not have it in the first place. Just because you know someone or have done business with them doesn't mean your rapport is already intact. Keep in mind too that rapport is not something you establish once and then think it will last forever. It is like a plant that needs to be watered. Relationships have to be maintained and fostered. So rapport cannot be taken for granted.

The effort in establishing a rapport is rewarded many times over once the relationship has been established. For this, one has to be more interested in listening than speaking. Being a good listener helps the other person to take you into confidence. One will have to be respectful and courteous to the other person. A kind word can establish a rapport and a rude word can break it. It takes longer to build than to demolish, and we should always remember this in human relationships. Make the person you are speaking to feel as though he or she is the most important person you are with at the moment. Give him your undivided attention. All human beings want attention and this is very important for establishing and maintaining a rapport.

In the modern world, in all industries the significance of rapport has been realized. It is termed as P.R. (Public Relations), although rapport sounds more humane and P.R. more business like. Their essential features are the same. Corporations, hotels, MNCs as well as law firms have P.R. departments. The job of these departments is to establish relations with the new clients and business prospects as well as to ensure that the existing clientele is satisfied and happy with their work.

The personnel of these departments have to be good in communication and inter-personal skills to make progress in their work. One meets difficult or even rude clients, who are hard to please. It takes patience, compassion as well as excellent communications to work with such clients. But once rapport has been established, the trust builds and the working relation gets more harmonious. But again, it is a non-stop process.

Nowadays, companies are spending time, energy and money in making their personnel undergo P.R. training and exercise, because they realize the worth of it. Seminars are being attended, motivational speakers invited to enlighten the executives on the essentials of rapport building, its key features and the pre-requisites.

For a law firm, there is nothing more crucial than keeping your clients satisfied with your work. Serious efforts are put in having a good rapport with the clients. Rapport is more than an exchange of greeting cards on Christmas and New Year. It is a constant endeavor to make your clients feel important and for them to have the confidence that you are accessible to them. The clients should feel that their work is being handled with due care and diligence. Communication with the client is crucial to foster the rapport. Keeping him abreast of the progress in his work, gives him the peace of mind that he looks for.

There should be a good rapport firstly with the client, secondly even with the lawyer on the other side and thirdly and lastly with the judges. One should always maintain a healthy relationship with lawyer for the other side as a sign of mutual respect and regard and not be confrontationist just to please the clients. These features of rapport are reflected even in our Bar Council Rules regarding Ethics and Professional etiquette.

With developments in modern technology, it is relatively easy to maintain good communications with the client. But rapport is not mechanical; it has a personal touch. It sends out the signal to the other person that he is important and you care for him and his work. We should make as much efforts as possible to establish a good rapport with others around us, be it our clients, colleagues, the legal fraternity and the society at large. Make the effort to establish rapport with others and watch how your interactions with them become more rewarding – professionally and personally.