Tonality in Communication for the Hospitality Industry

By Dr. Sharmadas Senasi DBA MBA

This book is all about the exciting ways of communicating effectively by understanding and controlling the frequency of tonality and speech. This journey will expand our knowledge, improve our communication abilities, and thereby improve adaptation to logical ways of delivering information by ways of communication
In essence, reading this book one may see the ways of using and balancing one’s tonality in communication and bring out the emotion in us.
The benefits of this book effectiveness in making our customers feel comfortable and satisfied with our services rendered and thereby improve the business opportunities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Aug 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781543759259

Dr. Sharmadas Senasi DBA MBA

Dr. Sharmadas Senasi has almost 20 years’ experience of extensive Business Management, Hotel Management, Human Resource Development and Hospitality background in a multicultural environment in food and beverage services, hotel & resort operational management, business development, human behaviors, appraisals development management, leadership, SOP development, training, asset development, events management in banquet operations, menu constructions and human resources operations.

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Copyright © 2020 by Dr. Sharmadas Senasi (DBA), (MBA).

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Problem Statement

Introduction

Chapter 1Why Tonality Is Important in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry

Chapter 2Tonality in Communicating with People of Different Ethnicities

Chapter 3Improvement of Customer Satisfaction and Profitability in the Hospitality Industry

Chapter 4The Body Language

Chapter 5Does Emotion Improve Customer Care and Profitability?

Chapter 6When Is There No Effective Communication, and What Causes Problems?

Chapter 7Will the Use of Tonality in Writing Improve Business?

Chapter 8Satisfied Customers Intend to Spend More

Chapter 9Methodology

Hyphothesis: Can Communication Improve Satisfaction of Customers of Diverse Ethnicities and Improve Profitability in the Hospitality Industry?

References

From the Author

About The Author

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the International Business School of Scandinavia for giving me the golden opportunity to participate and complete my doctorate programme in Malaysia. Also, I would like to thank the lecturer who has given me advice and guidance to create a benchmark for myself.

Thanks to my parents, who has supported me with this book, guiding me with knowledge based on what they have experienced in life, especially my father, who has coached me by explaining and defining things to make it easier for me to understand.

To everyone from my group studies team, I do salute you for always keeping in touch with one another and meeting up to discuss our topic. You always keep track of one another, ensuring we complete our research work and going through all ideas to mitigate flaws.

To all the supervisors who has borne with me all this time, I salute you for keeping us on track, ensuring we reach the highest level of our capabilities to provide sufficient data and to put them at their designated place for the work we have completed.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Disengagement in communication from failing to apply different tonalities.

STRATEGIES

• To research and give an overview of different ways of using tonalities in communication by understanding its multivariate functions and methodologies, helping mitigate communication problems and provide a linking pin to better understand the concept of tonality and its effectiveness

• To provide findings to justify that tonality does create a better bridge in the art of communication, where facial expression, paralanguage, and body language are all being used

• To create special techniques in training for the development of tonalities and listening to better understand communication, hence mitigating miscommunication and improving self-development skills, and to create a questionnaire to be given out to actual trainees and get feedback to generate a graph and to collect actual data

INTRODUCTION

In this dissertation, the writer would like to improve communication between employees and customers by using the right tonality. This will also assist in the mitigation of issues arising with the customers.

Communication is most important in the hospitality and tourism industry. Tonality should also be determined in the exchange of information. It exists within both or all parties exchanging information. When tonality is not being used well amongst all, this may cause a burden to those who does not understand and will surely cause friction between all parties (D’Annunzio-Green, Norma).

The hospitality industry is very fast-paced. Staff are not sitting down behind computers, but they are communicating and entertaining guests every day without fail. Customers expect fast and exceptional service for what they have paid for while staying or dining at an establishment, ensuring the service has been carried out with precision.

Communication is an exchange of words between people. When words are exchanged, an understanding or instruction has been given. Imagine a pilot who has to land a plane, and the communication between the pilot and the air traffic controller is not really clear. It will be impossible to understand the instruction, and the pilot will not take any risk and land the plane until he is certain that he gets a clear instruction without any mistake (Study.com/Academy).

Tonality is very vital in any industry and any sector, be it hospitality, medical, airline, security and police, or educational. In the hospitality industry, communication plays a major role in giving services to customers. Imagine how it will be when the tonality of communication is not taken seriously. What will be the risks involved? Any customer making a reservation will have a negative point of view of the establishment caused by wrongful use of communication and tonality.

The person who transmits information has to select the best possible way to communicate through the use of email, fax, telephone, social media, or verbal communication so the receiver may understand fully. The information should be understood by people of various ethnicities who will be visiting the establishment. Communication failure does exist when the communicator does not transmit information well to the receiver, such as customers of different ethnicities from various countries. This is known as ‘breakdown in communication’, where the words are not accurate for the receiver to understand. Hence, the tonality should be adjusted to suit customers with a different ethnic background.

Transmitting information fast to a customer from France will be difficult. The accent which they have developed throughout the years while residing in France is different from that which a local Malaysian has. Their hearing is not prepared for the fast information which is being transmitted. The correct method will be to adjust our pace for them to follow through with our conversation by repeating it and asking them questions (Doug O’Brian).

Albert Mehrabian was the one who actually came up with a rule about communication. The three important factors are ‘the word we use’, ‘the tone we use’, and ‘body language’ (Taryn Davies).

KEY ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION

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Consider speaking on the phone to our customers. They may not be able to see our body language; hence, the tone of our voice depicts the expression of our core values and company values. It shows a lot more. To explain more about tonality, Anthony Robbins explains that understanding and practising neurolinguistic programming (NLP) enables us to better understand the way we communicate and to use our tone properly where we are able to create successful communication such as business closure, better discussion and understanding, better relationship (business or pleasure), and most important of all better control of management.

When using an incorrect tone of voice, it can be very misleading. It develops instigation that hurts feelings and cultivate arguments. Thus, this can turn off your customers (Taryn Davies).

Daily experience in the hospitality industry has shown me many major issues in communication in Malaysia. Proper staff screening has not been conducted. Hence, speaking in broken English has caused many wrong interpretations amongst the customers and employees in the hospitality and tourism industry.

CHAPTER 1

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Why Tonality Is Important in the

Hospitality and Tourism Industry

The word tonality is described as the art of proper communication and delivery. Tone gives us the opportunity to market ourselves or create a position in business which defines as a person and our capabilities (Taryn Davies). A consistent tone aids us in developing our very own brand, which allows us to get the proper attention when communicating to our customers.

Communicating with passion or roughly or angrily can have a great impact on how people interpret and look at you. The proper tone of voice may demonstrate a kind of warmth, happiness, excitement, and humour. Once you have won the heart and confidence of your customers, it will be easier to do potential business with them, promoting different business ventures or your establishment in the hospitality industry (Taryn Davies).

Communication also deals with the body language which we have developed over the years in all societies. Even a pleasant glance, eye contact, and not saying a word may have meaning. People understand this expression which has been developed over the years without us knowing about it. This is known as emotion expression.

Linguists refer to all this auxiliary communication as paralanguage. This is important in tonality in communication. Paralanguage is widely used while we communicate even over the phone. This is also known as facial expression (Dennis O’Neil).

When customers identify a comforting tone, they will picture a brand or establishment where they have the confidence to listen to and communicate with, with calm and ease. Their heart will have a kind of belief that what you say and what you deliver is a service which is worth a thousand words. Customers feel comfortable while being closer to you; a customer always calling your name with excitement is a sign that you have created a brand of uniqueness. Hence, marketing or promoting products and services is always easier. Tonality develops our marketing; managing the