Chapter5: HowtoBuildStrongRelationshipsinaRemoteTeam 44 space or that they’re especially stressed and could use a chat to share their concerns. You’ll also notice details like noise levels in the office or distracting roadworks noiseoutside.You’llbeabletotellwhensomeone’sreallyfocusedontheirwork versus whenthey’re open to interruptions. As humans, we’re great at picking up on these signals. We practice this every day in our interactions and use people’s body language and tone of voice to informthewaywecommunicatewiththem. But in a remote team, you lose a lot of that context, so you need to find ways to make up for it. Let’s take a look at some ways to build strong connections with your teammateswhenthey’refaraway. Building RapportRemotely Whenyoustartanewjobinaremoteteam,itcanfeelverystrange.Althoughit mightbelessconfrontingthanworkinginanewofficefullofpeopleyoudon’t know, it can also be more isolating, as you don’t have an easy way to get to knoweveryonequickly—especiallythoseyoudon’tworkwithdirectly. Eventually, you’ll make the rounds and have some interaction with everyone, andperhapsevenmeettheminpersonatacompanyretreatlikeZapierholds every few months. But how do you go about building a rapport with people you’ve never really met? Let’s start with some standard methods for building rapport, and look at how wecanapplythemtoaremoteworkingsituation. Robin Dreeke is the founder of People Formula, former Head of the FBI’s BehavioralAnalysisProgram,andauthorofIt’sNotAllAboutMe:TenTechniques forBuildingQuickRapportWithAnyone.Inhisbook,Dreekeexplainssomeofthe mostbasicwaystobuildrapportwithothers,includingsmiling,tiltingyourchin lowersoyou’renotlookingdownonthem,matchingtheirhandshakestrength, andslowingdownyourspeechsoyoucomeacrossasbeingmorecredible. All good tips, but not very useful in a remote setting. So what can we apply to a remote situation to help us build strong relationships with our teammates? Well, Dreeke suggests a few things that we can use.