The more pleasing it is the more likely success will follow …
Anthill recently ran an intriguing article by Joshua Moore ‘The law of success: Lesson 10 – Moulding a pleasing personality‘.
The article explores finding the right balance between self-promotion and taking an interest in what others do that you meet and work with. I have mentioned this tool before, however the 360 Reach Tool that provides feedback from those around you, such as friends, family, bosses and clients, may offer some insights into how you are perceived by others. You may discover that you’re more personable or perhaps less personable than you thought!
As the article says “the more we take an interest in people, the better rapport we can build. John C. Maxwell, author of “Winning with People”, has an interesting idea that he calls the 101% Principle. Essentially, we connect with people when we find the 1% we agree on and give it 100% of our attention.”
So what are the essentials for building rapport? Some of the topics for discussion according to the article include:
- Sport
- Business
- Investment
- Study
- Places, events, people and locations
- Work
- Passions
- Hobbies
While building rapport with new people, based on areas you have in common, the article goes on to suggest seven things we can do to improve our personalities. Although we may be able to engage people once, being able to develop and maintain these relationships requires a lot more effort.
A couple of ways to do so include:
- Become genuinely interested in other people
- Speak with force and conviction
- Find clothes that fit your physique and match your chosen occupation
- Acknowledge your main limitations are the ones you set up in your own mind (you can change your results if you commit to it).
Clearly, very few of us have flawless personalities and we can all take something away from this article to continue to develop a more pleasing personality to help us both in our lives and careers.
What are your tips for building rapport and maintaining working relationships?
2 Comments
Great article – tweeting out as we speak!
This is very true, a small change implemented by yourself can make a huge difference in the relationships and interactions that take place around you everyday. It’s so simple yet .. most people dont care