Communication Most Used Skill In Hospitality Industry English Language Essay

Communication is perhaps the most important and most used of all skills in the hospitality and tourism industry because they will always deal with the customers. Communication is the process of exchanging information, so they can understand what the customers’ wants and needs through communicate with each other. Information is conveyed as words, tone of voice, and body language. Normally, communication involves two or more people with a sender, receiver and a message. These are the elements of the basic communication theory. A manager is the middle person in between the top management level and the team that reports to her or him. That means he or she will pass the information from the director to the staff or from the staff to the director. So that, he or she has to make sure that communication is smooth and conveyed clearly. This is because want to avoid misinterpretations and dissatisfaction occur. For example, the staffs have a poor communication with the supervisor, so they always make the mistake that is why the communication is very important. It is very useful to develop your negotiation and customer service skills, especially if you deal with the customers.

1.2 Communication Process

Sender Receiver

Figure

The figure above shows that the successful process of communication. Three principal components that involves in the process of communication are a sender, a message, and a receiver. Communications is the general term that sums up the sending and receiving of messages to the sender and receiver. In other words, the communication process consists of a message being sent and received. Communication also can best be summarized as the transmission of a message from a sender to receiver in an understand manner.

a. Think meaning of message

– At the sender side, think meaning of message means that the sender has something to tell someone about an idea which is occur in his mind. So that, he needs to communicate with others people to express his thinking. Besides that, he also need to make the message clear when he express the thinking to others people in order to avoid misunderstanding.

b. Expresses meaning in words, symbols

– For expresses meaning in words, symbols means that the sender knows what he mean but he cannot transmit his meaning directly to others people since others people cannot read through his mind, so they will not know what he meant. Therefore, he needs to put his meaning into words or symbols in order to make others people understand.

c. Transmits message (tells or write/sends)

– The sender sends the message by speaking the words or writing out the message to others people. It is also known as transmits message. By this process, the sender can easily express his thinking which is occurring in his mind to another person. Therefore, others people will know what the sender supposes to tell.

d. Receives message (hears or reads)

– In this process, it is responsibility of the receiver to receive the message which is sent by the sender. The receiver receives the messages from the sender by hearing or reading the words, or the symbols of the sender’s message meant. After receiving the message, the receiver only can translate the message into words or symbols.

e. Translates words, symbols

– Translates words, symbols means that the receiver must be translate or interpret the words after receive the message from the sender. This is because to make receiver understand what the sender meant and what the sender supposed to be tell. In this process, the receiver must be very careful when he or she translate or interpret the message. It may cause misunderstanding of careless.

f. Understands and accepts meaning

– The receiver understand and accept the meaning by translates the message into words or symbols. Once the message has been fully understand and accept that is mean the receiver really understands the message sent by the sender. Receiving, translating, and understanding are the receiver part of this communication. A communication may cause failure if a message does not reach the intended receiver.

Not only that, give feedback to the sender is also involved in the receiver part. By doing this, the sender will know whether the receiver understands what the sender supposes to be telling about. Besides that, the sender also can get know about the respond of the receiver form the feedback.

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1.3 Some Common Forms of Communication

As mentioned before, a communication is the process of exchanging information, ideas, or feelings. It is generally involves at least two or more parties. In addition, it is also implies that communication can involve a variety of forms, including (i) verbal communication, (ii) nonverbal communication, (iii) written communication, (iv) representative visual communication, and (v) representative aural communication.

i. Verbal communication

– Verbal communication is one way for people to communicate face to face with others. It generally communicates with others directly face to face speech or by telephone. Sound, words, speaking, and language are some of the key components of verbal communication. It is like a common form of communication that we can see at anywhere. For example, the phone operator communicates with the customer by using phone to confirm the reservation at the hotel. It seems like a verbal communication between the staff and the customer.

ii. Nonverbal communication

– Nonverbal communication is the process of communication which is usually understood through sending and receiving wordless message. For nonverbal communication, it can be divided by two categories, one is directly, and another one is indirectly. Directly means that it is through sign or similar gesturing. For example, normally, the cleaner will put a sign board in front of the toilet after the cleaning job is done in order to warn customer that the floor is wet. While for the indirectly means that it is possibly subconsciously and it is through expression, physical attitude and others. It is including body language, facial expression, and eye contact. For example, the customers will show their feeling by facial expression, so we can know they are in bad mood or unhappy through their facial expression.

iii. Written communication

– Any type of interaction that makes use of the written word is involved in the written communication. It is including letters, notes, instructions, books, manuals, and others. In hospitality industry, some of the various forms of written communication, such as memos, reports, job descriptions, employee evaluation, and electronic mail that are common used for the operations. For example, nowadays, sending information by e-mail to the staff is a very common thing that we can see in the organization. It is very convenience and save time.

iv. Representative visual communication

– Representative visual communication is the communication through visual aid. That is mean the ideas and information will be conveyed to in forms that can be read or looked upon. It can be used for there is lack of interpersonal interaction. Examples of the representative visual communications are including paintings, posters, advertising displays, sculpture, theatre, mime, and others. For example, in the modern day, the company will express their ideas or products through representative visual communication to the different target market. It might be by advertising, by newspaper, and others. Even though there is no interpersonal interaction between the person imparting the information and the person receiving the information, but at least they can easily get know what the product selling is for that company.

v. Representative aural communication

– Representative aural communication involves the transmission of information to in forms that can be speaking and hearing. Actually, aural communication not only can be used to transmit information independently, it also can be combining with verbal communication. Radio as an example. It is a medium that integrates both representative aural communication and verbal communication. Besides that, it also includes diverse musical forms, promotional jingles and others. An effective promotional jingle can make people easy to remember. At the same time, it might help to remind the customer about the product. For example, the promotional jingle for DiGi is ‘I Will Follow You’. Once we heard about this jingles then DiGi will automatically appear in our mind. Therefore, it is like an invisible communication to communicate with the people.

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1.4 Conclusion

Communication is the most important and most used of all skills in the hospitality and tourism industry. In generally, it is the process of exchanging information, so we can understand what the customers’ thinking is through communicates with them. Normally, communication is the general term that sums up the sending and receiving of messages to the sender and receiver. Besides that, there are six elements that are involved in a successful process of communication, which are (i) think meaning of message, (ii) expresses meaning in words or symbols, (iii) transmits message, (iv) receives message, (v) translates words or symbols, and (vi) understands and accepts meaning. In addition, there are some common forms of communication. It is including (i) verbal communication, (ii) nonverbal communication, (iii) written communication, (iv) representative visual communication, and (v) representative aural communication.