How to improve essential hospitality skills at home:

Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, we find ourselves in unprecedented times. The hospitality industry is taking a large blow and we find ourselves sitting at home in a nationwide lockdown. This might be the perfect opportunity to brush up on your essential soft skills so that you can return to work with extra confidence! Here is a list of soft skills you can work on from home:

Listening to others:

Listening is the most important skill to have in the hospitality industry. When you actively listen to a customer, you can understand what they need and proactively work to make them happy. Never assume what they are going to say, but rather take the time to listen to what they have to say so that you can deliver. 

Practice your listening at home with a family member. There are various games and activities available for you to practice mindful listening. For example, get a family member to describe a drawing to you while you are both sitting with your backs towards each other. While they are describing the drawing, you will need to draw it without looking!

Be positive:

Being cheerful and happy around customers will make them cheerful and happy. If you stay positive, your customers will have a good experience, and this will only benefit you and the business. Positivity is rewarded by praise from customers and recognition from managers at work. It also helps you to enjoy what you do. 

Practice positivity by keeping a list of what you are most grateful for. You could look at the current lockdown and list the positives -for example, you are safe and healthy, you get to spend more time with loved ones, etc. Strive for optimism and resilience and find ways to laugh at the little things. Continue to keep an eye out on our social media pages for motivational quotes to lift your spirits!

Take in criticism:

Change the way you look at criticism. It is an opportunity to improve yourself. Remember that you are not getting feedback to feel bad but to improve your performance. Listen and thank people for taking the time to feedback. Try taking the negative and learn from it. All successful hospitality leaders are open to criticism, learning, and improving their offering and service. Therefore, you need to practice staying open to change. 

Try cooking a dish you have never cooked before and get a family member to try it and give their honest opinion. Or write a short story and have someone review it for you. 

Practice non-verbal communication:

Clear communication is an important skill to have in the hospitality industry. When you communicate clearly with other people, you can build a positive rapport and understanding with that person. Practice good communication by making eye contact and acknowledging everyone in the room. Use clear, open body language, and monitor other peoples’ non-verbal cues and respond to questions in a non-judgemental language. 

Stare into a mirror and mimic certain emotions that you think you will have at work. This includes all the negative emotions as well. This will make you mindful of what the customer sees when you are experiencing certain feelings. Work with family members and have one person act out behaviours you might see at work. Write down what non-verbal message you receive from the behaviour and see if you all agree. Non-verbal behaviours can include:

• Leaning back in a chair with arms crossed;
• Leaning forward in a chair;
• Smiling;
• Frowning;
• Yawning;
• Nodding;
• Resting chin in both hands;
• Resting chin on knuckles;
• Rubbing your temples;
• Tapping fingers on the table;
• Looking at your watch;
• Staring around the room

Lastly, practice all your skills combined by spoiling family members to a session of stellar hospitality. Offer to make and serve a meal. Design a menu (even if you make sandwiches), prepare and serve the meal to your family members, and treat them the way you would treat customers at work.