Rapport: The Four Ways to Read People, Communicate Better, and Build Lasting Connections

Learn how to read people, build trust and handle even the most difficult conversations with confidence.

All of us have to deal with difficult people. Whether we're asking our neighbour to move a fence or our boss for a pay rise, we can struggle to avoid arguments and get what we want.

Leading forensic psychologists Laurence and Emily Alison specialise in the most difficult interactions imaginable: criminal interrogations. They advise and train the police, security agencies, the FBI, and the CIA on how to deal with extremely dangerous suspects when the stakes are high.

After 30 years' work – and unprecedented access to 2,000 hours of terrorist interrogations – they have developed a groundbreaking model of interpersonal communication. This deceptively simple approach to handling any encounter works as well for teenagers as it does for terrorists.

In Rapport , they reveal the four communication styles that shape every interaction: Control (the Lion), Capitulate (the Mouse), Confront (the Tyrannosaur) and Co-operate (the Monkey). As soon as you understand these styles and your own goals, you can shape any conversation. And you'll be closer to the real secret: how to create instant rapport.

Combining cutting-edge psychology with real-world case studies, Rapport offers a practical framework for:

Reading people more accurately Building trust and connection Influencing conversations positively Managing conflict and difficult personalities Improving communication at work and at home Negotiating more effectively Developing stronger personal and professional relationships
Insightful, accessible and backed by decades of research, Rapport will change the way you understand human behaviour - and help you get the best from every conversation.

'Laurence Alison is one of my academic heroes ... He makes the difficult clear – without losing his rigour.' Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of Outliers

'Fantastic’ Hannah Critchlow, bestselling author of 21st Century Brain

Emily and Laurence Alison 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020