# Transcript

Rapport building is an essential part of the coaching toolkit. Good rapport creates good coaching, and the relationship in coaching is all important, and is down to the coach to set the tone and create a relationship with the client that promotes trust, respect, and confidence. This begins with providing a correct environment for coaching, which needs to be comfortable, private and conducive to a conversation. But at the heart of rapport is the management of body language, and this is where the coach has a responsibility to help the client to feel comfortable and confident in the relationship.

Essentially, the coach needs to tune into the body language of the client. This means paying attention to things like posture, gesture and facial expression. The coach also needs to be aware of how their voice is matching the voice of the client, and we need to pay attention to tone and volume. One other aspect of building rapport is to pay attention to energy, pace and mood. For example, if a client is slow paced, the coach may need to slow their pace to match that of the client.

One additional benefit of paying attention to rapport is it helps the process of listening. By tuning into the client, the coach puts their attention on the client, which helps the listening process to begin.

In the video examples of rapport, there’s an example of bad rapport and an example of good rapport.