Building bonds is the skill of proactively building and developing mutually beneficial quality relationships. A natural builder is someone that knows the importance of having a good social network. After all, no man is an island. Even for the professionals working remotely or for virtual teams, the skills of working on building rapport and developing mutually beneficial relationships are the base of their professional success. When you take time and put the effort in to build relationships, you are naturally enhancing your people skills, communication skills, and self-confidence. A bond builder, or social networker sees relationships not just as things that happen, but as bonds that you proactively build aiming for quality relationships.

How to improve building bonds:

• Ask about their families/pets/significant others: In your conversations, ask about the people that are close to them. Even a simple "How are your parents/girl/boyfriend?" brings out a human element that creates an opportunity for bonding.
• Talk about their interests/hobbies/current events: Find something, an idea or a philosophy, or a hobby that others are passionate about and just ask a question. With the power of social media today it is not hard to find hot buttons to focus on.
• Give small token gifts: Small gifts go a long way. A small gift shows that you are thinking of them, that you invested thoughts into them. Small gifts are often more meaningful than bigger gifts on special occasions as they provide reminders of the relationship more often than gifts on special occasions.
• Ask good questions, and then listen: When people vent and talk about the problems they are facing, listen and ask questions. If you don't know what to ask, just repeat the last word they said.
• Always start with a positive introduction: A strong hello or a smile makes a huge difference in a person's day. And everyone wants that sense of recognition that comes through in your positive greetings.
• Be comfortable. Be real. Be authentic: When you are who you are, you share a part of yourself with the other person, creating a stronger bond.