Successful Meetings - January 2008 - 33

Planner’s Workshop > Professional Development Four Ways to Build Rapport While Networking By Blaze Driscol Your ability to create trusting relationships is a significant factor in your professional success. Without trust, no one will make a purchase, respect your expertise, carry out your instructions, or refer business to you. With trust, you will break down barriers and create a relationship of compatibility, a mutually beneficial relationship that will allow you to be privy to others needs, motivations, and desires. Trust can never be created with insincerity—you must have a desire to help others and to allow others to attain their goals. You can create trust rapidly and automatically by using the following strategies. These techniques are things each of us does automatically do when we are around people with whom we are comfortable. Next time you are out with a good friend, pay attention to your movements, as well as theirs. You will see that you unconsciously use the techniques below because you are in a situation, and a relationship, of trust and comfort. As you learn and use these techniques, you will notice your communication enhanced and SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS JANUARY 2008 you will find you can begin to create trust rapidly, even with complete strangers. MIRRORING Mirroring is a technique that creates a subconscious familiarity between parties and rapidly creates a feeling of affinity. The key factor is your ability to physically mirror the activities of the other party simultaneously, like a mirror, without looking like you are intentionally copying them or making fun of them. This technique must be used subtly and with respect. As you are speaking to another person, begin to take on some of their physical characteristics. For instance, if they lean forward, you lean forward; if they sit upright, you sit upright. By mirroring with good intentions you create a positive feeling of trust and familiarity. You need not mirror every move someone makes or it becomes imitation. Mirror just enough characteristics to make them feel positive and comfortable with you. Characteristics you can mirror include: posture, hand movement, facial expressions, eye Inside > ON SITE Five tried-and-true ways to make sure the keynote address at your next meeting is a success. PAGE 35 1 > PRE-EVENT How to manage site selection. PAGE 36 > TOOLS OF THE TRADE Blogtalkradio; LCD projectors for rent. PAGE 37 mimegasite.com 33

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - January 2008

Successful Meetings - January 2008
Contents
Editor's Note
Associations
Research
Events
Suppliers
Associations
On the Record
Associations
Suppliers
Planner Spotlight
Websites of the Month
Management Matters
Meeting the Law
Personal Success
Mouth for Sale
Food & Beverage
Professional Development
On Site
Pre-Event
Tools of the Trade
Veggie Power
Tennis, Anyone?
Seeing is Believing
The Wild Green Yonder
Game On
Places & Spaces
Galveston & Texas Beaches
Greater Seattle
Singapore
Gurus

Successful Meetings - January 2008