What are the best ways to build rapport with clients and colleagues in business English?

As a neurolanguage coach for finance professionals learning English, building rapport is key. Start by actively listening and showing genuine interest in your clients' and colleagues' perspectives. Use clear, concise language and avoid jargon unless necessary. Empathize with their challenges and offer tailored solutions. Regularly check for understanding to ensure clear communication. Share relevant personal experiences or insights to create a connection. Always be respectful and professional, valuing cultural differences. Lastly, follow up on discussions and promises, showing reliability and commitment to the relationship.

This is on partly correct. Whoever your audience whether specialist professional colleagues or people with English as a second language, clarity and brevity are still the fundamental principles of written and spoken business communications. A problem that we see constantly in editing material for all audiences is lazy writing that uses long-winded phraseology and common cliche as its core style. Being able to speak or write in plain English is proven to be more effective across all types of audiences including specialists. Plain English writing and speaking requires strong discipline and clear thinking to guide your reader to the objective that you are aiming to achieve, whether it is explaining a process or creating a call to action.

In my experience, often when we are speaking in a second language we forget to listen to our counterpart as we would so naturally do in our native languages. We are nervous and concentrated on what we want to say. Things running through our minds like: I think I just made a mistake. I should have said XYZ. Etc. My advice: worry less about your English and focus more on how you are engaging with the other person. I promise your counterpart will not walk away from the conversation thinking about your preposition error; however, they will walk away thinking about how you made them feel. Making people feel listened to- this is how you build rapport in business English.

If you already have a relationship with a client it is easy to say I haven't done that before, because they know that you are capable of solving problems. HOWEVER, if you say to a prospect that you haven't done it before they then think you are incompetent. Not suggesting you lie but you do need to sell to a prospect whereas you don't to an established client.