A tremendous amount of business can be decided in the first moments of an introduction. If we are able to communicate trust, integrity, and warmth in those first few seconds, potential clients are much more likely to do business with us. This can be communicated nonverbally, and happens almost instantaneously.

There is a primitive part of our brain that decides whether or not to trust. At the unconscious level we are attending to many nonverbal cues. Signals such as eye contact, posture, tone of voice, and breathing will help us determine whether or not we feel safe with someone.

Here are some effective ways to create a sense of trust:

1. Listen

You have probably already heard about the importance of listening, but are you really doing it? Are you attending to what someone is saying or are you formulating your own response as they speak? People are starved for attention. If you communicate to others that you are sincerely listening, it honors them. They will want to do business with you because they feel good about themselves when they are with you.

2. Remember The Details

By details I mean their names, their kids' names, birthdays, hobbies, vacations, as well as their goals and aspirations. Notice when they "light" up. They will smile, their eyes will shine and their voice will be buoyant. This is because they are talking about something that is very important to them. Share in their lightness, and rapport will be deepened.

3. Match Body Stance

We instinctively trust people that we perceive to be similar to us. One way to communicate this at the unconscious level, is to have your body in a similar position to theirs. When we are in rapport we instinctively match our bodies. We are more at ease when we are moving in harmony together.

We can match the whole body, upper or lower body, head/shoulder tilt, facial expressions and gestures. It should always be done subtly enough to be outside someone's awareness. Because it feels so natural, in most cases people will just be aware that they feel comfortable in your presence.

4. Match Voice

We can also create rapport by matching the tempo and volume of people's voices. If you speak very quickly with someone that speaks very slowly, you are probably making them feel pushed. By the same token, if you speak slowly to someone that speaks at a fast rate, you are probably driving them crazy!

The same is true for volume. A loud voice will intimidate a soft speaker, and a soft voice will communicate weakness to a loud speaker. Adjust your tempo and your volume to match whoever you are speaking with, and the conversation will flow much more smoothly.

Matching is something that occurs very naturally. The majority of the time you don't need to think about it, it will just happen. It is good to have conscious awareness so that when you are not in rapport, you can begin to match your voice and body, and rapport will occur.

Listening, attending to details, and matching voice and body will immeasurably improve your ability to quickly and easily create a sense of rapport. Remember: the details of your business are of no importance, if you have not first established trust. When you give it top priority, business will flow to you.