Skills for the Tourism Professional
How Well Do You Communicate?
Scoring
To find your total score, add the numbers you circled. If your total score is 81 or above, you have
assessed yourself as a very effective communicator. If your total score is 59-80, you have assessed
yourself as an effective communicator. If your total score is 37-58, you have assessed yourself as an
ineffective communicator. If your total score is 15-36, you have assessed yourself as a very ineffective
communicator.
It is not uncommon to find, upon close examination, that our communication is less effective than we
would like it to be. However, there are various time-tested techniques that can be employed to improve
communication and interpersonal interactions.
THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Noise
Encoding
Sender
Message
Channel
Receiver
Feedback
Decoding
Sending Interpersonal Messages Self-Assessment
Scoring Key and Interpretation
For questions 2, 4, 5, 8, and 9, give yourself 3 points for Usually, 2 points for Sometimes, and 1 point for
Seldom. For questions 1, 3, 6, 7, and 10, reverse the scale.
Sum up your total points.
Scores of:
 26 or higher - demonstrate a strong understanding of message-sending techniques.
 21 to 25 - indicate that you can improve your message-sending skills.
 20 or less - suggest that you have significance room for improvement.
Barriers to Effective Communication
Noise and interference can enter into and affect the communication process. A variety of
sources of noise can include:
Five Keys to Healthy Communication
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Non-verbal Communication
List three examples of non-verbal communication that is relevant to the Tourism workplace.
Name the gesture and what it means.
1.
2.
3.
Other interesting information about non-verbal communication:
Tips to Improve Your Nonverbal Communication Skills
The following are suggestions on how to utilize nonverbal cues and tools to become a more
effective communicator.
Eye contact:
Facial expressions:
Gestures:
Posture and body orientation:
Proximity:
Paralinguistics:
Humor:
Skills Required to Communicate Effectively
Skills for Increasing Clarity of Messages:
1. Use multiple channels
2. Be complete and specific
3. Claim your own message
4. Be congruent
5. Simplify your language
Skills for Developing and Maintaining Credibility
1. Know what you are talking about
2. Establish mutual trust
3. Share all relevant information
4. Be hones
5. Be reliable
6. Be warm and friendly
7. Be dynamic
Skills for Obtaining Feedback
1. Take the initiative to ask receivers for feedback
2. Don’t be defensive
3. Check your understanding by summarizing what you have heard
4. Check out underlying assumptions
5. Be sensitive to the provider’s nonverbal messages
6. Ask questions to clarify
Listening a Master Skill
To truly listen, not just hear but listen, can be both challenging and difficult. Often, we hear what
is being said but have not given our full attention nor have we fully understood what has been
said resulting in misinterpretation and confusion.
Prominent experts on communication have estimated that we spend more than 70% of our time
communicating and the breakdown may surprise you.
Writing (work processing)
____%
Reading (letters, memos etc.) ____%
Speaking
____%
Listening
____%
Listening Top Ten Countdown
List the top ten listening tips and summarize the explanation in one sentence.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
How Well Do You Listen?
Scoring
A score of 90 or above is excellent; you are an ideal listener. A score of 80-89 is very good; you know a great deal
about effective listening. A score of 70-79 is good; you are an above-average listener. A score of 60-69 is average;
you are typical of most listeners. A score of less than 60 is below average; you need to work on developing more
effective listening habits. The section of this chapter entitled “Listening Skills” provides some guidelines for being a
good listener.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
1.
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
2.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
3.
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
4.
1
3
5
7
5
3
1
5.
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
6.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7.
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
8.
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
9.
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
10.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
11.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
12.
1
3
5
7
5
3
1
13.
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
14.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Question
Score
Grand Total
Active Listening Skills Inventory
Scoring Key for the Active Listening Skills Inventory
Scoring Instructions: Use the table below to score the response you circled for each statement. Write the
score for each item on the appropriate line below the table (statement numbers are in brackets), and add
up each subscale. For example, if you checked, “A little” for statement #1 (“I keep an open mind…”), you
would write a “1” on the line with “(1)” underneath it. Then calculate the overall Active Listening Inventory
score by summing all subscales.
For statement items
For statement items
3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 13
1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15
Not at all
=3
Not at all
=0
A little
=2
A little
=1
Somewhat
=1
Somewhat
=2
Very much
=0
Very much
=3
Avoiding Interruption (AI)
_______+_______+_______=_______
(3)
(7)
(15)
Maintaining Interest (MI)
_______+_______+_______=_______
(6)
(9)
(14)
Postponing Evaluation (PE)
_______+_______+_______=_______
(1)
(5)
(13)
Organizing Information (OI)
_______+_______+_______=_______
(2)
(10)
(12)
Showing Interest (SI)
_______+_______+_______=_______
(4)
(8)
(11)
Active Listening total score:
=_______
Interpreting your score
The five active listening dimensions and the overall listening scale measured here are defined below,
along with the range of scores for high, medium, and low levels of each dimension based on a sample of
MBA students:
Active Listening Dimension and Definition
Score Interpretation
Avoiding Interruption: People with high scores on this scale have a
strong tendency to let the speaker finish his or her statements before
responding.
High: 8-9
Medium: 6-7
Low: Below 5
Maintaining Interest: People with high scores on this dimension have
a strong tendency to remain focused and concentrate on what the
speaker is saying even when the conversation is boring or the
information is well known.
Postponing Evaluation: People with high scores on this dimension
have a strong tendency to keep an open mind and avoid evaluating
what the speaker is saying until the speaker has finished.
Organizing Information: People with high scores on this dimension
have a strong tendency to actively organize the speaker’s ideas into
meaningful categories.
Showing Interest: People with high scores on this dimension have a
strong tendency to use nonverbal gestures or brief verbal
acknowledgements to demonstrate that they are paying attention to the
speaker.
Active listening total: People with high scores on this dimension have
a strong tendency to actively sense the sender’s signals, evaluate them
accurately, and respond appropriately.
High: 6-9
Medium: 3-5
Low: Below 3
High: 7-9
Medium: 4-6
Low: Below 4
High: 8-9
Medium: 5-7
Low: Below 5
High: 7-9
Medium: 5-6
Low: Below 5
High: Above 31
Medium: 26-31
Low: Below 26
Listening Skills Quiz
Compare your answers to the key. Add up the points, listed to the left of the choices, associated with
each of your personal answers. Record your totals in the space provided at the end of the key.
1. I like to finish sentences for others.
1 Always
2 Usually
3 Sometimes
4 Rarely
5 Never
2. Others appear comfortable talking to me.
5 Always
4 Usually
3 Sometimes
2 Rarely
1 Never
3. I sneak looks at my watch or the clock while others are talking. I often act as if they're keeping
me from something that's more important.
1 Always
2 Usually
3 Sometimes
4 Rarely
5 Never
4. I tend to tune out if delivery is slow or when I cannot hear the speaker.
1 Always
2 Usually
3 Sometimes
4 Rarely
5 Never
5. I tend to listen for ideas rather than for facts.
5 Always
4 Usually
3 Sometimes
2 Rarely
1 Never
6. I get easily bored listening to difficult expository material.
1 Always
2 Usually
3 Sometimes
4 Rarely
5 Never
7. I get distracted by other events or people in the immediate vicinity.
1 Always
2 Usually
3 Sometimes
4 Rarely
5 Never
8. Whenever others approach me with a question, I immediately interrupt whatever I'm doing and
give them my complete attention.
5 Always
4 Usually
3 Sometimes
2 Rarely
1 Never
9. Certain emotion-laden words anger me.
1 Always
2 Usually
3 Sometimes
4 Rarely
5 Never
10. I'm in the habit of cleaning my nails or fiddling with a pen, paper or paper clip, gazing at it
rather than listening to the speaker.
1 Always
2 Usually
3 Sometimes
4 Rarely
5 Never
11. I have a knack of steering others off their subjects with my questions and comments.
1 Always
2 Usually
3 Sometimes
4 Rarely
5 Never
12. I rephrase what others say in such a way that their meanings become completely clear.
5 Always
4 Usually
3 Sometimes
2 Rarely
1 Never
13. I try to anticipate what others are going to say, then jump ahead of them to say what they had
in mind.
1 Always
2 Usually
3 Sometimes
4 Rarely
5 Never
14. Whenever others talk, I stare at them as if disbelieving what they have to say.
1 Always
2 Usually
3 Sometimes
4 Rarely
5 Never
15. I always give the other person a chance to explain fully what his or her problems are.
5 Agree
1 Disagree
16. I often tune out dry or uninteresting subjects.
2 Agree
4 Disagree
17. I don't let others complete more than a few sentences before interrupting.
2 Agree
4 Disagree
18. I never give others the feeling that they're wasting my time.
5 Agree
2 Disagree
19. I've sometimes caught myself faking attention to the speaker.
2 Agree
4 Disagree
20. The questions I ask about what others have just told me often indicate that I wasn't listening
very well.
1 Agree
4 Disagree
21. I always look at others while they're talking. It's not hard to tell by my attitude that I'm
listening.
5 Agree
1 Disagree
22. I try never to be flip when others have something serious to discuss.
4 Agree
1 Disagree
23. I never put others on the defensive or confuse their thinking with my questions.
4 Agree
1 Disagree
24. When others speak, I often look at them in an evaluative or critical way, making them wonder
whether something is wrong.
1 Agree
4 Disagree
Add the number of points beside your answer.
MY SCORE: ______________________
0
– 59 points
Extremely poor listening skills
60 – 75 points
Poor listening skills
76 – 90 points
Average listening skills
92 – 110 points
Good listening skills
Active Listening
Active listening is key to effective communication yet it is the most neglected communication
skill we possess. It requires that both the communicator and receiver cooperate with one
another; it is not a one-sided act. Listening, as discussed, is much more than hearing, it also
involves comprehending, remembering, and responding. Effective communication is only
achieved when both sender and receiver actively participate in the process taking equal
responsibility for the interaction.
Three Steps to Active Process of Listening
1.
2.
3.
Ten Tips for Being a Good Listener
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Barriers to Effective Listening
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.