Traditionally, rapport has been defined as a sense of mutual understanding, respect, and friendliness. It is the presence of a co-operative relationship based on trust and honesty.

NLP takes rapport one step further by defining it as the unconscious relationship between two people. NLP can help you get in sync with another person so that you're speaking the same conscious and unconscious language, making it easier to create a win-win outcome.

Rapport means showing someone that you understand and respect them as a human being and that you support them. This doesn't mean that you have to agree with everything that they say, but in accordance with NLP principles, understand where they are coming from and why they believe in particular things.

It is important to understand when it is appropriate to create rapport and how deep to go. Let’s say that you are a computer repair technician. You probably want to create a good rapport to help the customer solve their problem, but since your interaction will be short, you don’t need to get to an extremely personal level. Or, if you’re negotiating, you might need to break rapport to make a good decision.