Life Coach Training Secrets to Establish Rapport and Be In Sync With Clients

There is a one definitive way to know about life coach training secrets. But before you can start helping other people, you need to help yourself. One of the best things about being a life coach is that there is no one-size-fits-all formula for how to do it.

Rapport is the first thing skills in becoming a life coach because it lays a strong foundation for the coach-client relationship.

We all know someone who easily clicks with anyone in just about any situation, have you ever wondered what’s their secret?

Well… it’s rapport.

Not only is it a skill needed if you want to become a coach but is also an important ability that you can use in almost any job or any situation. Whether you’re being interviewed for a job, selling something, or trying to improve a relationship, knowing how to build rapport can help you to perform successfully.

As a coach, communication is extremely important in every relationship that is to be forged. This is where the significance of building rapport with clients comes in. When we work to institute rapport, we’re building a relationship based on understanding, appreciation, and respect.

But before you continue you might like to consider our free worksheet on exploring “Find Your Passion”. Please download this worksheet here.

What Is Rapport?

Rapport is a foundation of meaningful, close and harmonious interaction between people. It’s like a connection that you feel when you meet someone you like, trust, and someone who shares your views and takes on things. It is the bond that is established when you meet a person whose priorities and values in life are the same as yours.

I learned more about rapport during my life coach training online. According to research, when you have a rapport with someone, you share:

• Mutual attentiveness
  The two of you are focused and are fully aware and interested in what you are both saying, doing, and engaging in.

• Positivity
  Both of you are happy and friendly, therefore showing genuine care and concern for each other.

• Coordination
  You are “in sync” and both are at the same level of understanding; you have matching energy levels, tone, and body language.

Rapport is also mostly defined as the following:

• an instrument for building relationships

• the foundation of success

• a means to better influence and teach others

• to share information, and

• to create opportunities together

Rapport is similar to trust. Rapport is more focused on creating a certain sense of connection while trust is more on the establishment of a good reputation for reliability and consistency.

Coaches’ Guide for Effective Communication and Rapport

A coaching relationship can start from being a total stranger at first, and the hardest part of becoming a life coach is: you can’t quickly know your client in just the first meeting! It might take a while before you are fully accustomed to their movements and behavior and quirks. In this section, we will talk about the What-Nots and What To-Dos to effectively establish rapport.

What Not-to Do

So as you try to familiarize with your client, you must try to avoid the following kinds of responses to fully convey information clearly and concisely:

1. Giving Outright Solutions
   Remember that coaching is different from mentoring Coaching is about letting the person know to find their way towards a goal or solution by guiding their choices, actions, and mental processes. Giving solutions can come in the form of lecturing and providing incorrect or unwarranted advice. As a coach, you will learn in your life coach training, that you should also avoid jumping to conclusions, as the client may think that you are just giving your opinion and not looking at the problem at hand, this gives them a sense that they are not being heard.
2. Judgement
   A coach should be cautious about being judgmental because it can severely harm the relationship you have with your client. This may come in the form of client blaming (for example they made a mistake) when you express disappointment in how they handled a situation.The client may feel attacked and offended that may cause them to withhold information from you. Being judgmental also makes it difficult to sustain a trusting partnership
3. Denying
   A person, we may sometimes praise or reassure a person even in the light of a bad situation— but it is different if you are a coach. You need to call out a situation but put it in a context that your client needs to learn from it. During training, you will learn that in becoming a life coach
   , you should not dismiss your client’s feelings when they talk of a situation, no matter how small or how insignificant it is to the current dilemma. Let them express what they felt and what they are thinking and when it is your turn to talk, acknowledge their thoughts and feelings before you correct them or guide them to the thoughts that they should prioritize.Your client should never feel like their thoughts and feelings are just mere unimportant factors regarding a situation.

What To Do

You don’t act as a lead to your client, a coach walks beside their client as they pursue the path to achieving their goals. The following are some of the things that a coach should observe if they want to establish or improve rapport with their clients

• Honesty
  Always be truthful but also gentle and sensitive in your honesty.

• Reliability
  Keep your word at all times and be on time for appointments.

• Always Give 100% Provide the client with your full attention at all times.

• Be Non-Judgmental
  Avoid any right/wrong, good/bad calls on client’s beliefs or behaviors.

• Be Human
  Let the client know you’ve faced similar challenges to show them they are not alone.

Trust, or simply known as the coaches’ reputation, is the basis of a good coaching relationship. Along with gentle guidance, being non-judgmental and the incorporation of honesty, attention, and reliability, you can assist your clients towards their path to success.

Six Steps In Building Rapport
Rapport can appear instantly – when you “click” with someone – or develop slowly, over time. It can come naturally, without intent, and just like any skill, you can learn to develop or improve it. Learning from our life coach training online, the following are just some of the steps to build and improve your rapport skills.

1. Remember the basics of good communication.
2. Find common ground.
3. Create shared experiences.
4. Be empathic.
5. Mirror and match mannerisms and speech appropriately.
6. Rapport is best built over the long term. However, you can use these strategies to build it quite quickly, if you need to.

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or what position you hold – knowing how to build rapport can bring you countless opportunities. After all, when you have a rapport with someone, he or she will usually want to help you to succeed.

1. CHECK YOUR APPEARANCE

We all know the saying, “First impressions count”, and most of the time, it is true! Your appearance truly helps you to connect with people, remember that it should be a bridge, not a barrier.

TIP: A good rule of thumb is to make sure you dress just a little “better” than the people you’re about to meet. However, if you arrive and see that you’re overdressed, you can quickly dress down to suit the situation.

2. REMEMBER THE BASICS

Always remember the basics of good communication :

• Be culturally appropriate.
• Smile.
• Relax.
• Remember people’s names.
• Hold your head up and maintain a good posture.
• Listen carefully and attentively.
• Don’t outstay your welcome.

In becoming a life coach, you will learn that the above are the basic things that you need to remember to form the foundation of great communication. These ‘basics’ can help you to establish trust, empathy, and a sense of connection with people and lets them know that you are listening to them.

3. FIND COMMON GROUND

Establishing a common ground can help quickly develop rapport, it is simply using small talk to find something that you both share. Maybe you both were from the same city, or university, etc.

Remember that most people like talking about themselves, and thus when you show genuine interest in them, the more likely it that they will relax and “open up.”

A life coach training tip is that: you can try to use open-ended questions to discover personal information: perhaps you attended the same university or school, share the same hobbies, interest in music, or support the same sports team. Even just expressing your shared frustration at unexpected rain can help you to draw closer to someone.

Remember two things as you are finding common ground:

• Be genuine and sincere, don’t overdo things. Don’t make up an interest, just to create rapport. Remember that soon enough they could feel it and this can seem desperate and off-putting, but it can also dent your credibility!
• Laughter is a great tool for building rapport but do use it with care. Some people are too serious and sometimes they can’t really take a joke, and you might cause offense to somebody else. If you think there’s a possibility that a comment might be taken the wrong way, don’t make it.

4. CREATE SHARED EXPERIENCES

Human interaction is an important aspect of rapport, and the best way to interact is to create new and or shared experiences. Shared experiences can be as simple as attending the same, program, training, or conference session together, or as complex as coworking on a new management process.

Working collaboratively to define problems, devise solutions, and design strategies, for example, can help to bring you and the other person closer.

5. BE EMPATHIC

Empathy is about understanding other people by seeing things from their perspective and recognizing their emotions. So, to understand and share another person’s perspective, you need to learn what makes him tick.

As mentioned earlier, people are likely inclined and enjoy talking about themselves, their likes and dislikes, needs and wants, and problems and successes, so ask open-ended questions and give them space to talk.

You genuinely need to really hear what they say, so that you can respond intelligently and with curiosity. This is where effective and active listening comes in.

In a situation where someone wants to talk only about themselves, try to balance the conversation by sharing as much as the other person does. You’ll both feel more comfortable as a result.

6. MIRROR AND MATCH

Research shows that we prefer people who we perceive to be just like ourselves. Mirroring and matching are techniques for building rapport by making yourself more like the other person.

You can do this by doing the following:

• Watch the other person’s body language, including gesture, posture, and expression. If, for example, drinks his coffee using his right hand, mirror him by also drinking your beverage. To match it, you would use your left hand.
• You can also adopt a similar temperament. If the other person is introverted or extroverted, shy or exuberant, you should behave in the same way. If he’s reserved, for example, then you should be, too, or you’ll risk being seen as brash or invasive.
• Use similar language. If he uses simple, direct words, then you should, too. If he speaks in technical language, then match that style. You can also reiterate key or favorite words or phrases.
• Match the other person’s speech patterns, such as tone, tempo, and volume. For instance, if he speaks softly and slowly, then lower the volume and tempo of your voice. (Research by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation suggests that this is the most effective way to establish rapport. It’s subtle, but it makes the other person feel comfortable and that he’s being understood.)
• Discretion and common sense are essential when mirroring and matching. Don’t, for example, mimic every word and gesture. If you do, you risk offending. Be subtle and aim to reach a point where you’re naturally synchronizing your behavior, so that the other person is unaware of what you’re doing.

Mirroring and matching can be difficult skills to master. However, remember that we all unconsciously mirror and match family, friends, and colleagues every day.

Re-Establishing Rapport

It takes time to rebuild rapport when it has been lost.
First, address why you lost rapport in the first place.
Humbly and honestly explain what happened. If you need to apologize, do so.
Next, focus on ways of repairing any broken trust.
Go out of your way and put in extra effort if you need to, and keep your word this time. Transparency and genuine concern for the other person’s needs will go a long way to rebuilding trust and re-establishing rapport.

At the end of this course, you will know a lot about life coach training secrets with the skills and knowledge to help others achieve success in their lives.

 

Ready to start your life coach journey and build strong, meaningful connections with your clients? Download our Find Your Passion Workbook to unlock your potential and discover your purpose. This workbook will guide you through identifying your true calling, so you can help others achieve their dreams with clarity and confidence. Take the first step towards becoming the life coach you aspire to be!