11 MIN READ

Five Ways to Build Rapport Online

Creating Mutual Trust With People You've Never Met

Smile, and start to build an excellent online rapport with your colleagues.

You instinctively know when you feel a rapport with a colleague, client or customer after meeting him or her face-to-face. You just "click," and have a sense that you share the same goals and values.

Building rapport helps to create trust and mutual understanding between people, and can open doors to new opportunities.

But, what if you never actually meet your colleagues or team members? Perhaps they're in a different time zone and you communicate with them online. If rapport is based on strong, two-way connections between people, and nurtured through empathy, shared experiences, and emotional intelligence, how can you and your co-workers develop it if you're never in the same room?

Well, now the good news – building rapport online is a skill that you can learn! In fact, you've probably already done it with your Facebook® friends and LinkedIn® contacts without really knowing.

So, here are five tips for developing mutually rewarding working relationships with people you'll never meet.

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