Creating a rapport

Tobias Volz posted 3 years ago, 1 Responses
During a meeting last week, I had to bring two LGBTIQ activists to a table as a part of the mediation. The goal of the meeting was to get to know each other and to start establishing a closer relationship, getting to talk about issues from the past, and clarify situations. The parties, at first, felt uncomfortable. Tensions could be felt. While both parties at first were holding on to the chair, moving from left to right, during the conversation, I observed that they increasingly calmed down. I also saw who they, most likely unintentionally, started to mimic each other’s sitting position. When talking about the challenges from the past, I felt that even their faces softened, they began to smile and visibly changed patterns of communication from a harsh/defensive form to a more friendly one.