Building trust

Supportive relationships take time to grow and develop. The relationship between Abdul-Karim and Benny shows the importance of time and shared interests in building a trusting relationship.

Establishing Trust

​Establishing a trusting relationship is critical if we want someone to feel a sense of belonging. As you will also see in some of the other videos, due to the experiences many refugees have, trust is a particularly important factor in establishing relationships with refuges with disability.
If you search for tips on how to build successful, trusting relationships and create rapport, you will find some common attributes and skills including:
  • Curiosity
  • Clarity of communication
  • Finding common interests
  • Being authentic
  • Spending time together
  • Finding shared values
  • Listening
  • Being open to new ideas and new learning
  • Creating an atmosphere of equality and respect
Listening to Benny and Abdul-Karim you can see how some of those skills and attributes are clearly at play here between Benny and Abdul-Karim and many of them are also at play in the other Ways to Welcome stories.

Authenticity

To single out one of the attributes from the list above, authenticity is one of those attribute that seems to be valued across cultures. Authentic people are seen as trustworthy and transparent.
​Being authentic

“requires a genuine sharing of our inner self in the present moment” (Mel Schwartz: Seeking Authenticity, 2012).
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When you are authentic and you do what you say you do, your words and your actions are congruent, people will trust you.
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​Check out this short clip of an interview with author and leadership coach Simon Sinek:
Abdul-Karim and Benny’s story also shows the importance of communication. Learn more about that by listening to Malek’s story in the next section.