Connect with colleagues in person
Forming a good rapport is very important when creating relationship with others. Here are some tips to effectively connect with others:
- Start simple, use common courtesy, practice office etiquette
- Join professional associations and organizations to connect with colleagues who may work in the same field but for different companies.
- Be yourself, be genuine, share something about yourself with them
- Stay abreast of your field by reading professional or industry publications. If you find an article or some information that may be of interest to a colleague, forward it to them with a kind note.
- Seek common ground - bring up any interests you might have in common
- Attend conferences and professional development opportunities. These activities often have networking components where you can spend time getting to know colleagues both within and outside of your organization.
- Be considerate, respectful of others’ time and situation
- Listen carefully to what others say and try to see the other point of view
- Stay positive - It's important to be nice and polite in all your workplace communications
- If you attend a conference or engage in other professional development, offer to share your “takeaways” (interesting information or lessons you learned) with your colleagues upon your return. If you can do this via a presentation to your team, it will also give you an opportunity to improve your presentation skills
- Find ways to be helpful to others: volunteer for committees, projects and tasks
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