I think it's important to remember that when building rapport with students, that we remember our efforts contribute to the changing of student lives, families and communities.
Being observant and listening with your eyes, ears and heart will provide you with the information you need to match and build rapport. This is one of many tools that takes some practice, but once you learn the technique it can open windows to connecting with your students.
Mirroring as been a tool that I have used successfully in the past, but, it won't be a successfully used tool, if you don't first pay attention to the people you are communicating with. Watch them as the relate to eachother, then your technique will be better used.
I would like to work on building trust in order to successfully build on a good rapport with others.I believe that trust is a key element in building rapport.
I will have to remember to use the steps in communication. I tend to move too quickly through the process without reading the body language of others
When reviewing the communication heirarchy as it relates to this question, I need to be aware of the necessary steps to build rapport with my students. I feel like I may jump from ritual straight into mutual interest/ opinions; when in fact I should be spending time to truly get to know my student through small talk and mutual interest.
Being flexible and understanding the impact of a positive attitude is important. Thanks for sharing.
Dr. Jean Norris
I will work on always having a positive atitude when assisting the student no matter what the situation may be
I will continue to work on my listening skills to make sure I am providing the best solution for my students needs.
I find that asking open door questions allows the student to talk first and in so doing I can learn something about them. Once we establish some form of common ground and I demonstrate empathy towards them we continue rapport building.
Really making my reps aware of the importance of each step of the Communication hierarchy and really doing a "self check" at each level even down to the minutiae like body language, etc.
The skill I will work to develop to successfully build rapport with others is not pre-judging people, or assuming that I know anything about them before I get to know them. Specifically, I have a difficult time approaching someone who seems angry or looks at me in what seems to be a disapproving way. I deeply care for people, and so I am intimidated by stand-offish behavior. But I realize that any PRE-judgement is likely a MIS-judgement. Many times I have found that if I put my fears aside and approach this person, and try to develop rapport with them, the behaviors I pre-judged have nothing to do with me, and are more often a signal that this person really NEEDS my kind words and listening ear.
One of the things that helps me is understanding that I enjoy this process. My own busyness can get in the way of being in the moment during appointments and I'm not as effective because I'm thinking about my to do list. Taking a few minutes to clear my head before a meeting helps me to refocus and do a better job.
I would try to find areas of common interest. Also, I would try to ask great questions that allow my student to talk about things that are important to him/her. And lastly, I would listen for the feelings that lie behind the words. They are the keys to what is really going on with a person.
I plan to build a successful rapport by using the Communication hierarchy. I think it's important to start with the ritual, small talk, mutual interest, not form opinions, and so on. I think following this model is the best way to form a great rapport. The purpose is to get to know the other person and have a sincere desire to do so. This is most effective when done the right way!
I think being professional and mirroring are very important steps to building rapport. I think you have to let them know that you are professional and that you have their best interest in mind. Mirroring the student will help put them at ease with you and help them understand that you are just a person like them.
Personally, I found the idea of going back down through the hirarchy if you have tried to give a feeling that is not accepted due to the fact that you have not yet established trust and rapport with a student to be one of the most important steps in this module. I plan to make sure to be cognisant of the hierarchy of developing relationships in my interactions going forward.
The skill that I will work to develop successfully to build rapport with others is mirroring speech and language. With students having diverse backgrounds, I need to be cognizant of how they are responding to my questions so I can adapt to the flow and make sure that I am gaining their trust along the way.
I try to establish a connection with students by trying to find a common interest. I listen to them for what they like and what their interests are and I add my personal experiences to that.
Brandy, thanks for sharing your experience here. Mirroring can be a great way to see if you have built rapport with someone and you share some great examples of different things to mirror. Great job.
Dr. Jean Norris
