How to Improve Listening Skills In Hospitality Industry

One of the most crucial qualities for holding a hotel management job is listening. This won’t seem apparent at first, but when we start working on the field this gets clear to the employees the value of possessing listening skills. Hospitality is defined as “kindness to guests and as a relationship process” because working in a hospitality business takes constant care and effort to effectively serve people in the way they appreciate.

A good hospitality member identifies the needs of staff and guests and that can be done if you are a good listener. Being able to listen attentively while others speak and do not filter the information via preconceived beliefs. A skilled listener can identify relevant information from what is spoken and utilize it to enhance service. A listening skill can be used as a motivational & customer service technique.

If you think you are having good listening skills and looking for few improvements tips this article will help you with that.

• Distractions:This is the main concern for today’s era, if we sincerely don’t pay attention to the conversation we get distracted by many things. Sadly, many of us can’t seem to hold a conversation without looking at our phones or laptops constantly. It’s best to keep the focus on the conversation being held by guests or customers which is imperative to be a good listener.

• Lack of interest: Again, maintaining interest depends on keeping focus, but sometimes it happens that if the conversation doesn’t hold appeal, we’ll be tempted to get distracted and focus on something else which will create a barrier for being a skilled listener, try steering the conversation towards other direction. But if the guest is having a particularly long conversation that doesn’t hold much of your attention try noting down the imp points to satisfy the guest.

• Sound:The other typical issue we confront during a discussion is ‘Noise’, as attempting to communicate in noisy surroundings is very inefficient. Even though you converse with background noise, you won’t be able to have a meaningful conversation. This usually happens while having a telephonic talk, it may not only be difficult for you but also put a strain on another end as well.

• Intrusions:One of the cardinal principles of communication we’re all taught as youngsters is that interrupting someone while they’re speaking results in nothing good. People are so anxious to be heard that they may occasionally interrupt a conversation to express their point of view. This is considered as a most significant impediment to good listening. To avoid this let other finish before expressing your own thoughts.

• Preconception:This may obscure your judgement and cause you to overlook useful facts or decent individuals. When living and working in the hospitality industry, it’s critical to leave any preconceptions at the door when engaging with guests or staff, assuming a person is dumb (or less clever than you) because of his origin is a mistake. You should give everyone the benefit of doubt and listen to what they have to say; this will help you develop your listening skills.

It is important to consider how your hotel employees listen to its guests. The more you invest in listening to your consumers, the more input you will perceive and understand their needs, which in turn will allow you to make intelligent strategic decisions for your company that can lead to huge success.