[This article is part of the monthly Communicate Smarter: Your Guide to Better Work Conversations series from Public Affairs and Stakeholder Management.]
Work is more enjoyable and productive when you have good relationships with your colleagues. Building rapport means creating a feeling of connection, trust, and understanding with others. It helps open lines of communication, makes teamwork easier, and creates a positive work environment.
Ways to build stronger connections:
- Find common ground: Look for shared interests outside of work. Do you both like a certain sport, a type of music, or a local restaurant? These small connections build bridges.
- Be approachable: Smile, make eye contact, and have an open posture. Be someone others feel comfortable talking to.
- Ask about them: Show genuine interest in your colleagues. Ask about their weekend plans, their family (if appropriate), or how a project they’re working on is going. Listen to their answers.
- Offer help: When you see a colleague struggling or busy, offer assistance. “Can I lend a hand with that?” or “Is there anything I can do to help?”
- Remember names and details: Remembering someone’s name, or a small detail they shared, shows you care and are paying attention.
- Be positive: A positive attitude is contagious. Bring enthusiasm and a helpful mindset to your interactions.
Your action steps: put it into practice!
- Chat beyond work: Today, have a brief non-work-related conversation with a colleague. Maybe ask about their favorite local coffee shop.
- Offer help to one person: Look for an opportunity to offer assistance to a coworker.
- Remember a detail: Make a mental note of one non-work-related detail about a colleague and try to remember it for your next chat.
You can find the full set of Communicate Smarter articles on the UCOR Hub Public Affairs space. Find additional communications resources on the Communicating Effectively wiki in that same space.
