Work with customers and

colleagues
2. Develop interpersonal skills
.
On successful completion of this lesson you will be able to;

 Use appropriate language and tone

 Maintain personal presentation standards
 Interpersonal Skills
• are those skills that help us communicate
and interrelate with other people.
• are defined by our actions, the words use, our
personal presentation and our behaviour
• are skills we can acquire and skills that help
determine our professionalism
 Interpersonal Skills may include,
• Effective communication through
-Appropriate language and tone (What we say
and how we say it), body language (non-
verbal communication) and listening skills
• Improved personal presentation through
poise, deportment and personal hygiene
• Being polite and courteous
• Team work
• Effective social interaction
 Interpersonal skills
• How we use these skills determines their
effectiveness and impact on others
and
• successful application of these skills in the
workplace demonstrate our professionalism
Developing Interpersonal skills
requires
• honest self- evaluation,
• an acceptance that change may be required in
some aspects of our behaviour- recognize a
need
• time and effort
 Developing Interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills can be developed through,
• formal study or short courses
• workplace experience and observation
• cultural sensitivity programs
• mentor programs
• professional personal development programs
 Maintaining Personal Presentation
Standards
IMPORTANCE
• the way we look communicates a lot about us
• when people look at us, they immediately
begin to form an opinion about us – this is
their perception of who and what we are
• this impact on the way we are received and
treated
 Maintaining Personal Presentation
Standards
Personal Presentation Standards
• Standards refer to the minimum required level of
quality or output- here the way we look and present
ourselves
• Industry standards refer to the standards expected
across the entire industry, irrespective of the sector.
• Enterprise standards set by the individual enterprise
that determine, for example, the quality of service
offered and employee personal presentation- vary on
location, image, customer base
 Factors effect on Personal
Presentation Standards
• Occupational health and safety issues: to ensure
we present ourselves in a way that is safe for our
colleagues, our customers and us
• Work location: dress in a manner suitable to the
area
• Customer expectations: the sector in which we
work and the target market
• Specific work functions: Front office staff are
required to observe a high level of presentation
than the back of house area
like our behaviour and communication skills, the
way we look and smell is all part of the bigger
picture when it comes to interpersonal skills
Personal Presentation and Hygiene

• Grooming
– grooming is the attention to detail we
give to how we look
– in the Hospitality industry the standard
of grooming and hygiene expected
includes: Bathing, Clothing, Shoes, Hair,
Hands, Body odour and Oral hygiene
 Personal presentation in business
• four common mistakes people make in
business dressing are:
– dressing glamorously
– dressing poorly or too casually
– dressing to depict some you are not
– Shaving/ grooming
 Grooming cont.....
Accessories
• Shoes
– Should match the colour of a hemline or be darker
– Coloured shoes can be used as a contrast i.e.
Matches a blouse
– Avoid white shoes for work
– For business a closed-toe court shoe or a sling-back
– Black, brown and dark blue are safe options and
are easy to co-ordinate with outfits
 Grooming cont.....
Accessories
• Colours
• Textures
• Size
• Stripes and dots
- Matching Vs. Contrasting
- Trend setter Vs. Trend follower
- Breathing life in to your strict business suit.
(colourful personality)
 Grooming cont.....
Accessories
• Jewellery
– The jewellery should be simple and elegant
– Button style earrings in gold silver or pearls are
suitable
– Necklaces- single strand of pearls, gold or silver
chain which is not chunky
– One bracelet- not the dangly type
– Not more than two ring for both hands
 Facial expressions
• When a chimpanzee focuses on a problem, it
will often scratch its head and open its lips
slightly, just as we do.
• A gorilla in a deep contemplation. Such
expressions were inherited from a common
ancestor of
 Posture
The position in which you hold your body
when standing or sitting
Lasting impressions

Smile !!
 Occupational Health and Safety
Implications
• Maintaining personal presentation standards is
not just about good grooming though; there are
also legal implications to consider
• under the various occupational health and safety
Acts in each state and territory, employers have a
responsibility to their employees to maintain a
safe and healthy work environment, and the
employees have the same responsibility to each
other and their employer
 Some of the ways in which the various
occupational health and safety implication
affect employees,
• Using and/or wearing the correct protective
clothes and equipment during work
• taking regular breaks when required so as to
prevent fatigue
• seeking medical advice for illness rather than
affecting other employees
• ensuring all clothing is neat and tidy so that
there is less chance of it catching in equipments
 Now, you could be able to:
Practise high standards of personal
presentation according to organisational
requirements, work location, impacts on
different types of customers and specific
requirements for particular work functions.
• Source: Road to Hospitality
(An Australian book)