Communicating with clients

Communicating well with an auditee requires more than just luck. It requires technique and commitment.

What is rapport?

If you have rapport with another person, this means you understand each other very well. People often talk about meeting someone and having instant rapport with him or her, but in fact rapport is important throughout a relationship. Both parties need to work at maintaining rapport in both personal and business relationships.

Body language

Body language means those gestures, postures and facial expressions that people use to communicate non-verbally with each other. Body language is critical to building rapport. You can use it to gauge your client’s mood, or to project a certain mood yourself. You can observe clients’ initial body language and then moderate how you approach them.

Observing posture

There are two basic types of posture:

· closed

· open.

A closed body posture is probably the most obvious. People with arms folded, legs crossed and bodies turned away are signalling that they are either not interested in receiving messages or they are rejecting the ones that they are hearing.

People displaying open gestures are also easy to pick. They might initiate a handshake, fully face you, offer a warm smile, lean forward or nod enthusiastically as you speak. This type of person is generally more at ease from the beginning, so you don’t have to work as hard.

Sometimes body language isn’t so obvious or easy to interpret. If clients lean back, look up at the ceiling, doodle on a pad or clean their glasses while you speak, does this mean that they are disinterested in what you are saying or rejecting your message? Or is this simply their preferred style: listening passively, but still absorbing what you have to say? If you are not sure, measure their mood by asking questions, using empathy and generally getting them to open up and tell you what they want. Above all, listen.

Careful observation and experience in dealing with a range of clients will prove the best teacher.

Using posture

You can use body language to project a confident, friendly image to clients. However, it does take practice to control your body language. Here are some ideas to help you:

· Don’t adopt closed postures yourself. These form a barrier between yourself and the client, and this may stifle the conversation.

· Turn your body towards the speaker. This is an open and positive body language posture, showing you have nothing to hide.

· Lean forward to show interest, but take care not to lean so close as to invade the other person’s personal space.

· Appear relaxed and receptive. The more relaxed you are, the more relaxed the enquirer will become.

Eye contact

Eye contact is one of the most important elements of non-verbal communication. It shows you are giving your client your attention, which in turn creates rapport. You can see if they are listening to you if they maintain eye contact. If you do not make eye contact, your client may feel that you are hiding something, but staring at your client is just as bad. Proper eye contact creates the trust that is important in any business. It is also about confidence; any enquirer wants to deal with a confident agent rather than one who is ill at ease or disinterested.

Gestures

Gestures are also critical to making the right impression. Standing with your hands on your hips or summoning people with a wave will not create a positive impression. Crossing your arms in front of your body will seem defensive. Try to keep your hands loosely folded or at your sides when dealing with a client.

Verbal communication

Verbal communication takes place both in a face-to-face situation and on the telephone. The main difference is that when you use the telephone with a client neither of you can interpret the other’s body language.

Using empathy

The key to developing a good rapport with a client is the ability to listen and empathise with them. This means being able to:

· have an understanding of the other side’s position

· ‘put yourself in their shoes’—try to see things from their perspective

· recognise their needs and wants

· use active listening techniques as they speak.

For your part, your responses should be positive and enthusiastic, showing that you have concentrated on what was said and focused on the content of the discussion.

Being aware of your language

When talking to clients, it is important to use language that is appropriate. Inappropriate language makes rapport unlikely.

Avoid colloquial language: you should use good clear English when you speak. You can be friendly but you must also be businesslike. Being overly friendly with new contacts is unprofessional and reflects badly on your organisation.

Avoid highly technical language or jargon. Using technical jargon may be appropriate in some business settings, but could confuse clients. So keep your language simple. The use of acronyms (abbreviations) may also be a problem if your client is not familiar with the abbreviated form. Many government departments, for instance, are known by their acronyms but you should always use the full title.

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Reading—Communicating with clients