Communication and Soft Skills
What the exam tests
This paper tests whether you can speak and write to a guest or a supplier correctly: the communication process, the 7 Cs, listening, grooming and body language, telephone and email etiquette, and complaint handling. Role-play and viva carry practical marks.
Core rules and concepts
- Process: sender → encoding → channel → message → decoding → receiver → feedback, with noise as interference.
- The 7 Cs of effective communication: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, courteous.
- Barriers: physical (noise), semantic (jargon), psychological (prejudice, stress), organisational (long chains), cultural.
- Non-verbal cues carry more weight than words in face-to-face service: eye contact, posture, tone, personal space, grooming.
- Telephone: answer within three rings, greet with department and name, ask permission before holding, repeat numbers, thank the caller.
- Email: specific subject line, one topic, correct salutation, no slang or emojis, signature with designation, reply within 24 hours.
- Complaints: Listen without interrupting, Apologise sincerely, Solve or escalate, Thank the guest and follow up (LAST).
Worked example
A guest reports noise from the corridor at 23:00. Weak response: "It's not our fault, sir." Strong response: "I am sorry you were disturbed, Mr Sharma. I will send security to the corridor now, offer you a room away from the lift, and call you in fifteen minutes to confirm you are comfortable." The reasoning: acknowledge feeling, take an action you can actually deliver, give a time for follow-up, and log the incident so the next shift knows.
Traps that cost marks
Apologising with no action; arguing to prove the guest wrong; using slang, "no problem" or "yeah" on the phone; writing a long email with a blank subject line; forgetting feedback, which closes the communication loop; ignoring body language in a role-play.