Communication Part #2#
Verbal Skills
Most communication with employees and guests is face-to-face. The success of
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this communication depends largely on your verbal communication skills. This
section will discuss six verbal guidelines to help you improve your interpersonal
communication:
2. Use examples and/or repetition.
3. Use concrete language.
4. State things positively.
5. Tell why the message is important.
6. Check for understanding
The Importance of Standard English
As more non-native speakers of English enter the hospitality work force and
the number of international visitors increases, it becomes more important
that hospitality professionals speak standard English at work.
Standard English can be described as the English you hear spoken by radio
or television journalists. (This handbook is written in standard English.)
It consists of standard grammar and pronunciation, and is relatively free
of slang.
Standard English not only helps people from different language backgrounds
communicate more easily, it improves your professional image. Like it or
not, you will find that people often make negative assumptions about your
intelligence and credibility if you say “ain’t” for “isn’t,” drop the “g” from
“-ing” words, or use “grub” for “food.”
As a hospitality professional, strive to become more “fluent” in standard
English. You’ll find it an invaluable verbal communication skill!
1. Identify the main point of your message.
“When we don’t clearly say what we mean, we create a black hole into which time,
money, and relationships disappear.”
The manager quoted above understood the importance of thinking out a message
clearly. If you’re confused about your message, your listener will be even more
confused.
Ask yourself these questions to clearly identify the point of your message:
• Can I summarize the idea in one sentence? If I can’t, my listener won’t be
able to clearly identify my point either.
• Is my idea complex or detailed? If it is, either express it in steps or put it in
writing. Our short-term memories won’t let us remember many details. In
most cases it’s best to use written communication for detailed information.
2. Use examples and repetition.
“It doesn't make any sense. I tell them what I want them to do, but they never get
it straight.”
Perhaps this manager is not providing all the information his employees need to
understand what’s expected of them. Sometimes, you must provide an example so
your listener has a clearer idea of what you’re talking about. In addition, if the
message is complex, you may find that repeating the main idea in different words
will help the listener understand and remember.
Examples or repetition may be useful in these situations:
• If the message is complex
• If the listener has limited experience with the concept
• If the listener has little knowledge of the situation
• If the listener is unfamiliar with the terminology
3. Use concrete language.
“Even though we’re all talking English, it’s like we’re talking different languages.”
Obviously, this manager has had some frustrations with face-to-face communication.
Perhaps she said one thing and the listeners heard something else.
When you speak, use concrete language to help promote understanding.
The following tips will help:
• Use simple words.
Erudite verbiage obfuscates cognition. That is, big words make a message
hard to understand. Remember, the purpose of communication is to get an
idea from your mind to the listeners’ minds. Use words that are part of the
listeners’ vocabularies.
• Use jargon sparingly.
Jargon is technical language that is specific to an industry or job type. Some
examples of jargon in the hospitality industry include terms like:
covers PBX
dine and dash popping sheets
DND (do not disturb) skippers
due out sleepers
no show stay over
overbooked
Be careful using jargon that may not be understood by listeners. If you do
use it, make sure your listeners understand it.
• Use specific words.
Don’t use vague language when specific language makes the point more
directly. Don’t say, “I’ll have that for you soon”; say, “I’ll have that for you
by noon.”
Do the “Concrete Language Exercise” at right to see how you can make your
communication more concrete.
4. State things positively.
“How could he do exactly what I told him not to do?”
It’s easy to understand this manager’s frustration. She thought she clearly
explained that the employee shouldn't fill out the form using a pen.
Unfortunately, the employee only remembered the words “fill out the form” and
“pen.”
Listening is hard work, and we’re not all good at it. When speaking, make things
as easy as possible for your listeners. Positive statements are clearer to understand
and remember. Tell an employee to “Do it this way . . . ” not, “Don’t do it this
way . . .”
Do the “Negative Statement Exercise” below to practice stating things positively.
5. Tell why the message is important.
“I try to point out the benefits to them. Then I think they feel my message is more
important.”
This manager understands that just because something is important to him,
it doesn't mean that it’s important to his employees. As a speaker, you
need to point out how information is valuable to the listener. Try to see things
from the employee’s perspective. Perhaps a certain action will increase return
guests. From your perspective, that is important. Perhaps from the
employee’s perspective it’s more important that the action will reduce the number
of angry guests.
When you tell listeners why your message is important to them, you gain several
benefits:
• They are more likely to pay attention.
• They will feel that you respect them because you are approaching the idea
from their point of view.
• They are more likely to take the action you are recommending.
• They are more likely to remember what you have to say.
• They are more likely to be motivated.
Test your ability to communicate information to your employees by doing the
exercise on the next page.
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