Negotiating, Rapport, and Manifestation

Collaboration, and reciprocal altruism to create what is needed

Manifestation is the ability of an individual to embrace, act, or have some person, place or thing, appear in this individual’s consciousness, and sensory awareness, and have this person, place or thing, appear in a specific and particular way.

Here is the essential introduction to this series of stories concerning the art and science of Manifestation.

Negotiation Through Love and Rapport.

Life is built largely upon negotiating for what we want and need. To negotiate at the highest level is to engage in a strategic, and tactical discussion intended to resolve an issue, problem, constrain, or obstacle in a way that all parties find acceptable.

The most successful negotiations involve give and take, collaboration, reciprocal altruism, compassion, empathy, and whatever else is required to make an agreement. In almost all successful negotiations one or all parties will usually need to make some concessions.

In negotiation, rapport is beneficial for reaching mutually beneficial outcomes, as partners are more likely to trust each other and be willing to cooperate and reach a positive outcome. However, others have found that interpersonal rapport in negotiation can lead to unethical behavior, particularly in impasse situations, where the interpersonal rapport may influence the negotiators to behave unethically.

Mirroring

Mirroring is the behavior in which one person subconsciously imitates the gesture, speech pattern, or attitude of another. Mirroring often occurs in social situations, particularly in the company of close friends or family. The concept often affects other individuals’ notions about the individual that is exhibiting mirroring behaviors, which can lead to the individual building rapport with others.

Mirroring is the subconscious replication of another person’s nonverbal signals. This concept takes place in everyday interactions, and often goes unnoticed by both the person enacting the mirroring behaviors as well as the individual who is being mirrored. The activation of mirror neurons takes place within the individual who begins to mirror another’s movements, and allows them a greater connection and understanding with the individual who they are mirroring, as well as allowing the individual who is being mirrored to feel a stronger connection with the other individual. Mirroring is distinct from conscious imitation under the premise that while the latter is a conscious, typically overt effort to copy another person, mirroring is subconsciously done during the act and often goes unnoticed.

The display of mirroring often begins as early as infancy, as babies begin to mimic individuals around them and establish connections with particular body movements. The ability to mimic another person’s actions allows the infant to establish a sense of empathy and thus begin to understand another person’s emotions. The infant continues to establish connections with other individual’s emotions and subsequently mirror their movements.

Mirroring can establish rapport with the individual who is being mirrored, as the similarities in nonverbal gestures allow the individual to feel more connected with the person exhibiting the mirrored behavior. As the two individuals in the situation display similar nonverbal gestures, they may believe that they share similar attitudes and ideas as well. Mirror neurons react to and cause these movements, allowing the individuals to feel a greater sense of engagement and belonging within the situation.

Mirroring generally takes place subconsciously as individuals react with the situation. Mirroring is common in conversation, as the listeners will typically smile or frown along with the speaker, as well as imitate body posture or attitude about the topic. Individuals may be more willing to empathize with and accept people whom they believe hold similar interests and beliefs, and thus mirroring the person with whom one is speaking may establish connections between the individuals involved.

Individuals with Asperger’s or other social difficulties may be less likely to exhibit mirroring, as they may be less subconsciously and consciously aware of the actions of others.

This factor may cause additional difficulties for the individuals, as without mirroring, establishing connections with other people may be more difficult. Additionally, other individuals may be less likely to build rapport with the person, as without mirroring the person may seem more dissimilar and less friendly. Individuals who are not subconsciously aware of gesture may have difficulties in social situations, as they may be less able to understand another person’s perspective without it being explicitly stated, and thus may not understand covert cues that are often used in the social world. It is possible, though very rare, for some of these individuals to deliberately learn and become aware of these cues. This, however, is the exception to the rule, not the norm.

Establishing rapport, through mirroring — exhibiting similar actions, attitudes, and speech patterns as another person — may lead others to believe that one is more similar to them and thus more likely to be a friend.

Individuals may believe that because one replicates the individual’s gestures, that one may hold similar beliefs and attitudes as the individual. Mirroring may be more pervasive in close friendships or romantic relationships, as the individuals regard each other highly and thus wish to emulate or appease them. Additionally, individuals who are friends may have more similarities than two strangers, and thus may be more likely to exhibit similar body language regardless of mirroring.

Here is a Medium story you might enjoy from Nate Anglin

Author: Lewis Harrison is a public speaker, and has researched ways related to manifestation for over half a century.

“I am always exploring trends, areas of interest, and solutions to build new stories upon.”