TOUR GUIDING SKILLS

HTT 257

Effective communication
CHAPTER 4
Effective Communication
4.1 The communication
process
4.2 Factors affecting
effective
communication
4.3 Ensuring effective
communication
4.4 Listening – the
pathway to
understanding
4.5 working with
questions
4.1 The communication process
 When are communication skills required????
 Tour operators & guides
 Coach captains & bus drivers
 Tourist information officers
 Government organizations
 Hospitality staff – restaurants
 Hotel – employees
 Airport staff
Guides service their audience by:
Liaising perantara with clients, visitors &
( )

customers
Providing commentaries relevant to the tour
Forms of communication
 Written communication
 Memos
 Briefing sheets
 Itineraries (senarai acara)
 Procedure manuals
 Promotional materials
 Electronic communication
 Email
 Internet
 Text messages
 Oral communication
 Face to face
 Over the phone
4.2 Factors Affecting Effective
Communication

Presenter
Delivers message Audience
•Receives message
Non-verbal •Sense of sight, hearing,
•taste, smell & touch
(body language,
dress, body odors
& actions)
Your messages do not give meaning to your audience;
rather your audience gives meaning to your messages
Sharing of same meaning

Message Message
presenter audience
Being the presenter-delivering the
message
 Rely on non-verbal, voice & content
 Non-verbal – facial expressions
such as: *surprise (raised eyebrows, wide eyes)
*‘wow’ (mouth)
*happiness (corners of the mouth
raised & turned up) or (soft eyes &
face)

“The face is the image of the soul”

Cicero (roman Philosopher)
 Eye contact
-relaxed, friendly, soft etc
-look around your entire audience
 Movement, gestures & mannerisms
-how often do you move?
-repetitive rhythm / movement patterns?
-how do you move & hold yourself?
-what is your posture?
-movements: natural, relaxed & consistent
+ve non-verbal expressions
 Facing the group squarely
 Relaxed, attentive & open stance
 Friendly mannerism – relaxed smile / facial
expressions
 Avoiding distractive & annoying habits
-ve non-verbal expressions
 Tightly crossing arms
 Chewing gum or smoking
 Rubbing face, eyes, hair & other areas of the body
 Cracking knuckles
 Looking repeatedly at your watch
 Shacking hands
 Pacing back
 Hands on hips with legs placed spread-eagled
 Hands in reverse fig-leaf position – hands are clasped behind
your back
 Crossing your lower legs at the ankles
 Pointing with fingers
 Clothes you wear
 1st impressions before we speak the 1st word
 Do a head-to-toe assessment – guides attire, uniform,
skirt, blouse etc
 Grooming
 Cleanliness / personal hygiene
 Well-shaven & trimmed facial hair
 Well-presented hair
 Neat & tidy clothing
 Frequent washing
 Deodorants & perfumes
 Fresh breath & pleasant body odors
 Clean & trim fingernails
 Personal space
Being the audience-receiving the
message
Eyes
visual channels: colors, shapes, brightness,
movement & contrasts (75%)
Ears (12%)
- Other senses : taste, smell and touch (13%)
Everyone can see what you talking about
People’s eyes towards an object
4.3 Ensuring Effective
Communication
 Communication barriers include:
 Cultural variations & personality differences
 Clash of perceptions & expectations
 Misunderstanding
 Technical glitches & breakdowns
 Time-related issues
 Non-interest
 Making people feel threatened
 Environmental barriers – noise, smoke etc
 Inappropriate communication – criticizing, judging etc
 Inappropriate language
 Dispelling myths (see Table 4.1) page 65
 Being aware of cultural diversity
-cultural diversity among industry colleagues
(languages, place, culinary, work etc)
MYTHS SURROUNDINGS THE COMM PROCESS
 You communicate, only when you want to
 Communication is achieved when you finished
speaking
 You communicate only with the word
 If people appear confused, keep providing them with
information
 You communicate as if words have specific meaning
 Your feelings play no part in the comm process