Pacing is a technique used by hypnotists and NLP practitioners to check the relative level of rapport the have with a client who has come to them seeking behavioral change. After the therapist uses rapport building techniques such as mirroring and matching, he or she checks on their success by doing some action first. If the other person does something similar—follows the pace set by the therapist—it is considered a sign of effective rapport indicating that the work they will do has a good chance of being successful.