How to Build Stronger Professional Relationships

Whether you are a career professional or an entrepreneur, you must work with people to achieve your goals. Many factors work together to help you build, maintain, and deepen professional relationships for long-term career growth and entrepreneurial success.

While getting along with and relying on others is necessary for long-term growth and success, it can be challenging at times. Coworkers, colleagues, and clients can drive you crazy. People don’t respond promptly to your emails or phone calls, they miss deadlines and make mistakes that affect you, and some are just plain negative and annoying. Whatever happens, it is paramount that you maintain professionalism at all times—one slip can doom your career or business.

Building, cultivating, and maintaining professional relationships is essential for:

·         Getting support for your ideas and recommendations.

·         Adding richness, meaning, and purpose to your work and life.

·         Forming mutually beneficial interactions.

·         Gaining and sharing information and knowledge.

·         Finding assistance and advice, when needed.

·         Building the trust of others.

·         Growing and expanding your expertise and experiences.

This book will cover what goes into forming and cultivating professional relationships, strengthening your relationships skills, identifying and avoiding pitfalls that can trip you up, and bouncing back after a misstep.

You can work through the book from beginning to end or jump in wherever you need help now. I recommend that you complete the exercises in the book to get the maximum value from the activities.

Table of Contents

The Basics of Professional Relationships

Social Skills Can Make or Break Your Relationships

Perception Is Reality

Characteristics of Effective Professional Relationships

Relationships Start with Civility

Business Etiquette Is Still Relevant

Understand and Respect Business Etiquette—Quiz

What It Takes to Build  Trust

Networking Propels Your Business Success

Become a Politically Savvy Professional to Get Things Done

Communicate Like a Professional

What Kind of Communicator Are You?

Body Language, Gestures, and Facial Expressions

Listen with Curiosity and Respect

How to Build Rapport

5 Ways to Present Your Ideas with Conviction

Disagree Without Being Disagreeable

Tell People You’re Good Without Bragging

How to Handle Nervous Chatter

How to Have Difficult Conversations

Professional Relationships Require Emotional Intelligence

How to Work with People You Don’t Like

How to Protect Yourself from Pushy, Relentless People

Jumping to Conclusions Can End a Relationship before It Begins

Is Always/Never Thinking Crushing Your Relationships?

When Negative Feedback Punches You in the Gut, Don’t Punch Back

When Your Temper Is Too Hot to Handle

How to Apologize and Mean It