Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills are the life skills we use every day to communicate and interact with other people,
both individually and in groups.
People who have worked on developing strong interpersonal skills are usually more successful in both
their professional and personal lives.
Employers often seek to hire staff with 'strong interpersonal skills' - they want people who will work
well in a team and be able to communicate effectively with colleagues, customers and clients
Through awareness of how you interact with others - and with practice - you can improve your
interpersonal skills.
Rounding off this skill is the ability to stay calm, focused, polite, interested and to match the mood or
emotion of the situation.

A List of Interpersonal Skills Includes:

a)

Verbal Communication - What we say and how we say it.

b) Non-Verbal Communication - What we communicate without words, body language is an example.

c) Listening Skills - How we interpret both the verbal and non-verbal messages sent by others.
d) Negotiation - Working with others to find a mutually agreeable outcome.
e) Problem Solving - Working with others to identify, define and solve problems.
f) Decision Making Exploring and analysing options to make sound decisions.
g) Assertiveness Communicating our values, ideas, beliefs, opinions, needs and wants freely.

The effect of speaking in any particular way will be modified or enhanced by the body language the person talking
is using.

Non Verbal Communication

There are two kinds of non-verbal communication:
Signs and symbols: for example pictures, or notices such as no entry
Gestures and expressions: hand signs, expressions or body language that can help to convey a message. You can learn to
communicate better with your guests if you learn to recognise some of these.

Facial expressions - a smile, a frown.

Gestures - movements of hands and body to help explain or emphasise the verbal message.
Body posture - how we stand or sit.
Orientation - whether we face the other person or turn away.
Eye contact - whether we look at the other person and for how long etc.
These non-verbal clues are important as they can be used to improve the quality of communication.

Communication takes place in mainly three different ways:

Talking and listening face-to-face and on the telephone
Writing and reading messages, forms etc.
Through body language including facial expression, gestures, eye contact or looking away/looking at the floor and how
close you are to a person
Body Language
The form of communication that takes place without words. Includes: facial expression, gestures, gaze (looking directly
at the face of the person who is talking or listening) and space (keeping a certain physical distance from the other
person, or using other barriers such as sunglasses, folded arms, a table Listening .
Providing information to guests
Guests may ask you for hotel information and information about the area e.g. travel and tourism information.
Housekeeping staff should be able to answer these where possible.

General guidelines and tips about communicating with guests and colleagues:
Be brief and to the point. Colleagues and guests dont want you to waste their time giving long-winded
explanations
Customers will expect you to be helpful and courteous, but not so chatty that they get bored or wonder why you
arent getting on with your job
Use commonly understood words
Pick a time when the person can pay attention to what you are saying.
Dont talk at the same time as someone else, or try and deliver an important message when someone is using a
noisy machine, or standing at the top of the ladder
Pay attention to what is being said in reply. Look at the face of the person directly: it is far easier to understand
words if you can see facial expressions