How to Create Rapport & Connection in a Small Amount of Time
As a server we know that making a connection and bonding with our customers is a crucial component to having them as a returning customer, leaving you a hefty tip, and having them raving about you to all their friends and family members to come check you out! With that being said, a big dilemma we tend to face is we sometimes don’t have enough time to give each individual group of guests that specialized quality time that we would love to give. We might be in the weeds, a rush just came in, it just hit 12:00 noon lunch time and everyone is placing their order in at the same time etc. Luckily for you I have been experimenting with different approaches to find workarounds and solutions to this.
One thing that I’ve found that has assisted me immensely when it comes to creating a quick connection with my guests in a short period of time is incorporating something called Emotional Prediction. Try to emotionally predict how the customer is feeling. Explained In other words would be the ability to be able to anticipate another person’s feelings by placing yourself in their shoes. Emotionally prediction is so complex that people can seldom predict their own emotions, let alone those of others.
Emotional Prediction VS Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Prediction is NOT the same as Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the concept Daniel Goleman fleshed out in his excellent book of the same name. It involves:
- Knowing your own emotions,
- Managing your own emotions,
- Motivating yourself,
- Recognizing emotions in others
- Handling relationships
Emotional prediction is yet ANOTHER layer of communicating. In a nutshell emotional prediction is predicting what a person’s prompt or distant emotion will be in reaction to something said or done ahead of time. You can then coordinate your own behavior accordingly, generally to reinforce the confidence and self-respect of those you are communicating with. This, in turn, enhances their devotion for you and boosts your own self-confidence. Why you ask? Well because you will soon be in the habit of reacting sensitively to others around you and thus receiving positive feedback from everyone.
The bulk of people’s reactions to you are subconscious. Their volatile responses finesse around the brain and go right to their “gut.” Malcolm Gladwell’s very research detailed book, Blink, verified, proved, demonstrated, & popularized the concept. People no longer doubt this unseen reality and the pivotal role it plays.
Culminating Thoughts
It’s no secret that all we generally focus on most of the time is on ourselves, right? Well how about you take your focus off of you and envision yourself in the customer’s position. Really stop and ponder how the customer is currently feeling or predict how they will be feeling in the near future and say it to them. By you doing this it shows that you understand and feel them even if it’s not to a large extent it’s to a much larger degree than most strangers they’ve come across that day let alone quite possibly that week, you never know. They feel this way because you’ll predicate their own emotions before they can even present them or show them to you. This builds warmth & comfort with others specially your guests, clients, customers, even loved ones, you name it!
When you see a customer just walk into to your establishment and it’s a scorching hot summer day, use emotional prediction approach him/her and say “I bet you’re completely dehydrated from that blistering hot sun. Allow me to alleviate that dilemma by bringing out the ultimate quench satisfier, our house-made premium lemonade!” this is an example of how a small emotional prediction can go a long way. With this under your belt, you can make rather small emotional predictions around all your tables and reap the benefits of watching your tips skyrocket while building connections with customers in a small amount of time.