There are many variables that go into rapport building and we all can attest that maintaining rapport is a vital aspect in successful leasing presentations.

Recently, one of my leasing agents was asking me about NLP, an acronym they had just become familiar with and how it could relate to leasing.  I am quite the advocate in KISS (Keep It Simple Sunshine) so I  am going to share with you, as I did with my agent what I perceive as some of very basic foundations of the art of rapport building as it relates to NLP aka: Neuro-Linguistic Programming. There are many articles, books, and online classes relating to this field (google it!) and I encourage anyone that sparks and interest to go for it. Learning is growing!!

The foundation of Neuro Linguistic Programming is that people tend to interpret, think and communicate in either a Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic way. Nobody is just one 100% of the time, but most people will tend to lean towards one or the other. They key is to listen so you can pick up on what type of person you are communicating with and use these skills to strengthen your relationship. One of the fundamental principles of NLP is that ‘people like people who are like themselves’, and adjusting your speaking patterns to be more like the person you are communicating with is so important in developing and maintaining rapport during a presentation.

The “K.I.S.S. of N.L.P.” Breakdown:

Visual people will think and speak in pictures and common expressions. They are comfortable with statements like; I see what you are saying or it looks good to me. They will use words like picture, view, clearly and so on.

Auditory people will think and speak around what is heard and their common expressions might be statements like I hear you or sounds good. Words like ‘resonate’, ‘hear’, and ‘tone’ will be used often.

Kinesthetic people will think and speak in ‘feelings’ and will use expressions such as my gut feel or touchy subject. Words such as felt, feel, touch and instinct will be utilized.

Ok, so that’s all well and good but how do you identify the primary communication mode of the person you are interacting with?

Listen with intent and pay attention to:

The words being used - Listen to the words that your prospect is saying and that will may give you an idea of how they think, and interpret information. Picture words for Visual's (I see what you mean), hearing words for Auditory's  (sounds good to me) and feeling words for Kinesthetics's (I have a weird feeling).

The pace of talking - Visual people will normally speak faster than Kinesthetic people because they see pictures in their mind much like as if they are watching a movie, whereas Kinesthetic people tend to take a little time accessing words and feelings from inside and will make sure what they say feels right. Auditory people will also have a slower pace than visuals as they will be focusing on your sound, pitch and tempo.  

Knowing if the person sitting across from you in your leasing office is a Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic type person will enable you to adjust your own style of speaking in order to develop a better rapport with the person to whom you are speaking.  Practice makes perfect, and as you increase the skill of developing and maintaining rapport, NLP can be another great tool to have in your toolbox.