What is rapport building?
Rapport is a dynamic interaction characterised by mutual attentiveness, positivity, and coordination, with the importance of those elements changing as relationships develop.
Explore how consistently you create mutual attention, appropriate warmth, and coordination without turning rapport into performance or manipulation.
Answer as you are today
Choose the answer that best describes your recent behaviour at work. No email required.
What does rapport building mean?
Rapport is a dynamic interaction characterised by mutual attentiveness, positivity, and coordination, with the importance of those elements changing as relationships develop.
Why it matters at work
Rapport can make difficult coordination and honest conversation easier, but it is not forced similarity or constant agreement. It must remain reciprocal, context-sensitive, and compatible with boundaries and truthfulness.
What this assessment measures
Mutual attention
Showing genuine presence and interest while making room for both people to contribute.
Warmth & respect
Communicating regard and psychological safety without artificial charm or agreement.
Coordination & rhythm
Adapting pace, turn-taking, and expectations so interaction becomes easier over time.
How to interpret your score
Your overall result is normalised to a 0–100 scale. Use it to choose a practice area, not to compare your worth with somebody else.
Build your rapport building foundation
Your answers point to situations where one visible routine could make this capability more reliable.
A developing rapport building pattern
You use this capability in some conditions. Strengthen the dimension that becomes least dependable under pressure.
A strong rapport building pattern
Your answers suggest a reliable pattern. Keep testing it against harder situations and feedback from people affected.
Designed for reflection, not diagnosis
The ten behaviour-based statements cover 3 practical dimensions. Responses run from “Never” to “Almost always”; negatively worded items are reverse-scored. Overall and dimension results are converted to a 0–100 scale. The assessment is educational and has not been psychometrically validated.
Read the full assessment methodology and editorial standards.
Research that informed this page
Linda Tickle-Degnen and Robert Rosenthal (1990), “The Nature of Rapport and Its Nonverbal Correlates”, Psychological Inquiry.