Matching and Pacing
Subtly align your pace, volume and language to the other person's to build unconscious rapport.
Matching and pacing means adjusting your own speed, volume, energy and word choice to be closer to the other person’s, so the conversation feels natural to them. It comes from Neuro-Linguistic Programming, developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970s. Note that NLP’s broader claims are not well supported by scientific evidence, so treat this as a practical rapport habit rather than proven psychology.
To use it: if the buyer speaks slowly and quietly, do not steamroll them at high energy; bring yourself closer to their tempo. If they use plain words, drop the jargon. On the phone, matching pace and volume is most of it.
It works because people relax with those who feel similar to them, and it is easy to do without any script. The mistake is obvious imitation, especially of accent or mannerisms, which reads as mockery and does the opposite of building trust.