Building Rapport through Communication | Origin: LS105R
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Your Leadership Toolkit --> Building Rapport through Communication
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
Comment on Maili Torres's post:
That stood out to me too. Matching is such a subtle but powerful tool — it operates beneath conscious awareness, yet it shapes whether someone feels safe and valued in a conversation. It's a great example of how thoughtful intention on the leader's part creates genuine connection on the follower's side. Thanks for highlighting it.
With Benevolence, Shannon
Comment on Tim Dzubay's post:
Couldn't agree more. Humility may be one of the most underrated leadership traits — not because it's weak, but because it takes real strength to admit when you've missed something. The leaders I respect most are the ones who can say "I got that wrong" without losing any authority in the room. It actually earns them more. Thanks for naming this so clearly.
With Benevolence, Shannon
This module reinforced for me that communication is far less about what I say and far more about how well I understand the person in front of me. Covey's reminder to "seek first to understand, then to be understood" has become a daily discipline I want to lean into, especially in a role where people come to me carrying both stated concerns and unspoken ones. The four steps of empathetic listening — leave your motives, quiet the chatter, clarify what you hear, and summarize what was understood — give me a practical framework to actually slow down and listen instead of preparing my response. I also appreciated the emphasis on transparency. Admitting when I don't have all the answers builds more trust than projecting false certainty ever could. Going forward, I want to practice matching, empathetic listening, and honest transparency as core leadership habits at the Early College Center, because real rapport is built one genuine conversation at a time.
With Benevolence, Shannon
Being an effective empathetic listener helps you modify even your original ideas to create solutions as a team.
People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Intentional listening shows care for people in ways far greater than intelligent speaking or a powerful speech can express in words alone. Words may move people to action. Listening moves people to connection.
Be fully present when someone is speaking to you; do not listen to your own internal dialogue, or you will miss what the other person is trying to convey.
Transparency is especially important when you are already at capacity. I will apply this when it is not feasible to add more tasks to an already expansive weekly workload.
This is so good. I learned that I need to control the chatter in my head and lock into conversations.
Being ablt to truly listen means giving people the space to speak without interruption and taking the time to understand their perspective before responding. It’s about gathering all the information, not rushing to conclusions, and listening with the goal of understanding rather than simply preparing a reply.
Reflective listening, through summarizing or paraphrasing, has been effective for me at times. Listening carefully and then demonstrating to the speaker that you understand—or are making a genuine effort to understand—is essential for open and effective communication.
Transparency and empathetic listening are important for leaders to be able to connect better with their team, not just in a work environment, but also overall creating better relationships.
Being open to hear the criticism and wanting to make it better will enable your leadership style to flourish. If you act like you don't care, people won't care.
Never be afraid to ask for help.
Listening with the intent to understand is called empathetic listening.
I think one huge part of empathy ... and effective leadership, for that matter ... is the ability to not only truly listen to understand, but to also realize when, in fact, you are wrong about something. True leaders who take the time to show their humility (and their humanity) have a lot more of my respect.
I learned all about matching. The act of matching is conscious, because it is a choice we make. I was not aware that this was conscious and not unconscious.
I learned about the act of matching and how it is a conscious decision that leaders make. When we match someone's unconscious body language and gestures, it influences their subconscious and helps them feel at ease in our company.
Empathetic listening is something I do most of the time, but I will have to make an effort to continue to do that at al times, while attempting to self regulate. There are all good reminders about the importance of leadership and empathetic listening.
Reflective listening by summarizing or paraphrasing has worked for me at times. It is true, listening and then showing the speaker you understand or are attempting to understand clearly is vital to open communication.
