The Art of Creating Successful Teamwork in Everyday Life

Perhaps you (or someone you know) have been part of a work team or a sports team that was a disaster – because of the lack of good communication. So what does communication have to do with a winning team, or a successful work team? Everything.

Every team works better when everyone is feeling good about their contribution and the relationships they have with the other team members. A team that has good rapport* has a good vibe. That good vibe translates into good team spirit and energy. How to stay in rapport with all team members is the secret. Avoiding breaking rapport with others is the key.

*rap·port /raˈpôr/ (noun)

A close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate well.

Consider this: It could take a few minutes to a couple of hours to build rapport with someone. It could take a minute to break that rapport. It could take forever to repair it. So, learning what breaks rapport is key to creating and maintaining healthy, high-performance, good-vibe work and sports teams.

Build and Maintain Good Connection With Others

Because there are 4 main communication/learning styles, it increases the probability that the person you are communicating with has a different style than yours—and this is often the cause of broken rapport. The 4 styles are: Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic (feelers), and Digital (thinkers).

Each communication style has characteristics unique to that style, which means the other 3 styles have less interest in some of those characteristics. For example, the Visual style communicator likes to see things when being taught, and the auditory style only needs to hear when being taught. So, conflict will occur when the visual team member is only getting instructions in an auditory way. Frustration occurs, rapport gets broken and now this team player’s negativity is affecting team results.

Here is a summary of the 4 styles and the words each style uses. To build the best rapport with someone, listen for the words they commonly use (see table below) and use those words when communicating back to them. Be a better, more well-rounded communicator by using words that appeal to each style. In a team environment, using words that appeal to all styles will help ensure that all 4 styles are getting your message.Commonly Used Words:

Visual Style

Look, Appear, View, Big Picture, See, Imagine

Auditory Style

Hear, Sounds Like, Talk, Tell Me, Resonate, Ideas

Auditory Style

Feel, Touch, Comfortable, Grasp, Get a Handle, Fit, Connect

Digital Style

Think, Thoughts, Order, Sequence, Makes Sense

Use this quick guide above to help you become familiar with commonly used words for each style. When you understand the style of others, you can adjust the words you use, so you can stay in rapport with whomever you are talking to.

If your communication is working well with someone, you don’t need to do anything to fix it. (This is usually the case when that person has the same style as yours, hence, the good connection).

When you feel or think that your communication with someone is not going well, then it’s time for you to fix it. Listen for the words they use that fit their style (as above), and try to match their words—you will quickly see and experience instant, posi­­­­­tive results.

Here is another guide you can you use to understand more about others’ styles:How they may end an email or telephone conversation:

Visual Style

See you later

Auditory Style

Thanks for the chat. Chat later.

Kinesthetic Style

Nice to connect. Hugs. Take care.

Digital Style

Bye (or just hang up, when ending phone conversation)

 Harmonious teams create dynamic team results. Practice today, listening to others’ communication styles and become a well-balanced communicator.

To learn what your most dominant and less dominate communication style is, complete the online assessment at: www.LawofConnectionBook.com

Michael Losier is a Certified Emotion Code Practitioner and Law of Attraction Coach/Trainer living in Victoria, BC, Canada.
He is the author of three bestselling books:
Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don't,
Law of Connection: The Science of Using NLP to Create Ideal Personal and Business Relationships, and
Your Life's Purpose: Uncover What Really Fulfills You.

Learn more about Michael and his services on Releasing Negative Emotions, visit: www.ReleasingNegativeEmotions.com

Michael was interviewed four times by Oprah Winfrey on her Soul Series show on Oprah Radio(TM). Michael then went on to host his own radio show on Oprah Radio(TM). 

Check out Michael's Author Page on Amazon.com: