Understanding the other person's feelings and mindset -- and using that understanding to steer the conversation -- builds more trust than any rapport trick ever will.
Tactical Empathy
Core Principle
Voss's Tactical Empathy goes beyond regular empathy by actively using emotional understanding to guide conversations. Listen for emotions beneath words, name them, validate without necessarily agreeing, slow down your pace, and let people feel truly heard. When people feel understood, they open up and become flexible.
Step-by-Step Execution
Example in Action
Prospect: [sighing] We've been through three vendors in two years. Nothing works. I'm honestly tired of even having these conversations. You: [slowly] It sounds like you've been through a really frustrating process, and the last thing you want is to get burned again. Prospect: Exactly. Every vendor promises the world and under-delivers. You: I can see why you'd feel that way. After three bad experiences, I'd be skeptical too. And honestly, I'm not going to sit here and promise you the world. What I can do is show you exactly what we delivered for a company in your situation and let you talk to them directly. Would that help? Prospect: ...Yeah, actually. That would.
Practice this technique with an AI-powered roleplay scenario.