Ask How, When And Why To Instantly Build Rapport In Conversations

Ask How, When And Why To Instantly Build Rapport In Conversations

Meeting new people is always a bit tough, but if you’re trying to build a quick rapport, psychology blog Barking Up the Wrong Tree points to an old FBI trick: ask open-ended questions.

Photo by Andrew.

We’re all aware that you want to ask questions that have more than just a yes or no answer, but the key here is to keep doing that throughout the conversation. FBI Counterintelligence Behavioural Analysis expert Robin Dreeke explains:

One of the key concepts that every great interviewer or conversationalist knows is to ask open ended questions. Open ended questions are ones that don’t require a simple yes or no answer. They are generally questions that require more words and thought. Once the individual being targeted in the conversation supplies more words and thought, a great conversationalist will utilise the content given and continue to ask open ended questions about the same content. The entire time, the individual being targeted is the one supplying the content of the conversation.

Sure, you probably don’t need to worry about counterintelligence training, but it’s at least another tip to add to your small talk toolkit.

Top 10 FBI Behavioural Unit Techniques for Building Rapport With Anyone [Barking Up the Wrong Tree]


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