Effective Communication Techniques in Hospitality Industry

1. Communication: Groups & Teams HRT 383

2. Thank You to… • Noel Cullen, author of Life Beyond the Line • Gary Yukl, author of Leadership in Organizations • Carol Roberts, presenter of Keys to Powerful Writing and Interviewing Appreciatively • Robert Woods and Judy King, authors of Quality Leadership and Management in the Hospitality Industry

3. Works Cited • Brownell, Judi. 1987. Listening: The toughest management skill. The Cornell H.R.A. Quarterly, February 1987: 65-71. • Decker, Bert. 1992. You’ve got to be believed to be heard: Reach the first brain to communicate in business and life. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press. • Decker, Bert. 1996. The art of communicating: Achieving interpersonal impact in business. Revised edition. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Learning. • www.Quotegarden.com : Listening. Accessed 10/31/03.

4. HRT 383 Learning Objective • Understand the process of communication and its impact on a system. Identify techniques of effective communication and factors that act as barriers. • What processes? • What system? • What is a barrier? • What is effective communication?

5. Common Definitions • Communicate: to give, share, impart, reveal; to have something in common with another; to succeed in conveying one’s meaning to others • Communication: transmission, imparting; giving of information or messages • Communicating: system of transmitting messages

6. The Basic Process of Communication • Sender has a message • Sender decides how to express the message • The sender gets the message to a receiver • Receiver hears, sees and/or reads, and interprets • Receiver responds with feedback • Action / Reaction • Questions / Comments • Sender gets a message from the receiver

7. RKR as a Set of Systems • Recognize the restaurant as a set of systems and subsystems; analyze the system’s interrelationships. Be able to diagnose system breakdowns and prescribe changes. • RKR is a set of systems • A basic subsystem of RKR is • HOH • FOH • Communication is one subsystem

8. Communication:Subsystem Examples • Hostess/Host ↔ Guest • Manager ↔ Guest • Server ↔ Guest • Server ↔ Expo • Expo ↔ Line • Manager ↔ Staff (HOH, FOH, All) • Manager ↔ Manager

9. Some Possible Barriers • LANGUAGE BARRIER • avoid long words, jargon, local dialect • HABIT BARRIER • don’t do everything the same • DISTRACTION BARRIER • try to remove them or make allowances • MISUNDERSTANDING BARRIER • slow down and double check.

10. Other Barriers:These May Cause Conflict • Lack of true dialogue: get to know people, then facts! • Confusion: unclear terms, goals, or objectives • Perception: interpretation based on past experiences (perception is their reality) • Emotions:confusing facts with feelings (messages get out of proportion or context) • Egos: can cloud judgment; may affect what is said and what is heard • Feedback is not allowed or ignored: the communication loop can not / does not close

11. What is effective communication? • How would you define? • How do you know? • When is it not?

12. Developing KSAs General Educations Major Course Work Where else? With whom? Dyad Group Team Organization Internal External In what way? Verbal & Non-Verbal Formal presentations Formal conversation Discussion Debate Dialogue Informal conversation Interpersonal relationships Written Communication Professional Personal Why is communication important?

13. Verbal Communication:Key Points - Discussion • KEEP TO THE POINT • be as precise as possible • KEEP IT SIMPLE • use easy words • SAY OR WRITE WHAT YOU MEAN • there will still be questions • PLAN YOUR CAMPAIGN • choose best time, mode (e.g. one-on-one vs. group)

14. Verbal Communication:Key Points - Dialogue • KEEP THE FOCUS ON OTHERS • Your role is to listen without judgment • WHEN YOU SPEAK, ASK QUESTIONS • Your role is to know more • DIALOGUE BEFORE “DISCUSSING” • Know the feelings before dealing with the facts • REQUIRES THINKING AHEAD • Choose best time for both; have the proper mind-set

15. Verbal Communication:Other Aspects Whether formal or informal: • Build rapport with others • Listen actively • Ask good questions • Paraphrase sincerely

16. Verbal Communication:Rapport Being in sync with other people, verbally and non-verbally, so they are comfortable and have trust and confidence in you

17. Verbal Communication:Active Listening • Be engaged • Truly hear and process the message • Avoid distractions • More detail to follow…

18. Verbal Communication: Good Questions • Show sincere interest • Deliver questions with “life” • Types of questions: • Positive questions (The way you ask) • Behavioral questions (How would you…) • Situational questions (In this situation…) • Probing questions (Elaborate/clarify)

19. Verbal Communication:Paraphrasing • Listen carefully • Determine what the message means to you • Restate the message in your own words to show the meaning you received from the message • This is not about your opinion or interpretation – it’s about what they said! • Your Goal: “I hear, I understand, I care”

20. Verbal Communication:Sincere Paraphrasing • This is NOT “What I hear you saying is…” • State in your own words your understanding of what another person says or feels • You feel that… • You mean that… • You think that… • As I understand it… • Is that right?

21. Non-Verbal Communication • Bert Decker’s book is titled “You’ve got to be believed to be heard” for a reason! • He discussed factors • Eye factors • Energy factors • What do you see?

22. Written Communication “I never saw a person who could cram so small an idea into so many words.” Abraham Lincoln From Quotegarden.com

23. What? • Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. • Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.Amzanig huh?

24. Written Communication:The Goal in Business Be Clear & Be Concise

25. Written Communication:Hints • Cut unnecessary words • Few in number Few • Serve to make reductions in Reduce • Use short and powerful words • Of the 701 words in Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, 505 are one-syllable and 122 are two-syllable • Think about the word “house”

26. Written Communication:Hints • Do not overuse • That, would, was • Very, quite • Avoid redundant adverbs and adjectives • The radio blared loudly • He clenched his teeth tightly

27. Written Communication:Hints • Prune out qualifiers • Pretty much, kind of, sort of • A bit, a little, rather • Use the active voice – avoid passive voice • This paper was written by me vs. I wrote the paper (passive = 7 words; active = 4 words) • The manager was hesitant to approve vs. The manager hesitated to approve

28. Written Communication:Hints • Paragraphs - Topic Sentence • Clear, concise paragraphs are expected • One topic per paragraph; in the lead sentence • Other sentences offer supporting points: illustrate, explain, clarify • Final sentence is the spring board to the next paragraph • When writing, consider the audience • Who are they? • What are their needs? • What are their expectations and preferences?

29. Listening Actively: The Receiver’s Challenge "Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk."- Doug Larson

30. Listening • The most challenging of all communication skills • Requires focus • Requires practice • Different degrees • Passive at one end of the scale • Deeply involved – “Active Listening” – at the other • Different Ways • Fact (Discussion or Debate) • Feeling (Debate or Dialogue) You’ve Got to be Believed to be Heard, pg. 190-192

31. Maslow’s Four Stages of Learning • Unconscious Incompetence We don’t know what we don’t know • Conscious Incompetence We know what we don’t know • Conscious Competence We work at what we don’t know • Unconscious Competence We don’t have to think about knowing it The Art of Communicating, pg. 48-49

32. The Typical Executive • Spends 80% of his or her time communicating • Of that time: • Listening45% • Speaking 30% • Reading 16% • Writing 9% You’ve Got to be Believed to be Heard, pg. 191

33. Listening Capacity • We use only about ¼ of our listening capacity • Listening capacity is difficult to measure • Even without using quantifiable measures, what if each of us doubled our individual listening capacity? You’ve Got to be Believed to be Heard, pg. 191

34. Brownell’s Model • HURIED • Hearing • Understanding • Remembering • Interpreting • Evaluating Listening: The Toughest Management Skill, pg. 65-66

35. Hearing • Essential Actions: • Concentrate on what the speaker is saying • Allow the entire message to be delivered without interruption • Sender and receiver must be comfortable with silence • Avoid Distractions • “It’s about them, not you!” Listening: The Toughest Management Skill, pg. 66-67

36. Something to ponder… • Speaking: 130-160 words per minute • We can process aural information at a rate of up to 700 words per minute • On average, we listen three times faster than most people talk • What can we do with that unused mental time? Listening: The Toughest Management Skill, pg. 66-67

37. EffectiveTeamCommunication • An effective team accomplishes their shared goals • Building an effective team involves, among other things: • Establishing and maintaining mutual trust • A feeling of membership – “sense of belonging” • Sharing or roles and responsibilities • Mutual ownership and accountability • Developing camaraderie • In part, these are aided by effective communication

38. In Closing… “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said.” Peter F. Drucker from Quotegarden.com