The social relations of the man in the different moments of his development are the essential element in the formation of his personality, and the category of communication has a specific and fundamental place in these relations.
Personality activity occurs generally through the system of their social relationships.
Therefore, in carrying out their main activities and their most significant interpersonal relationships, the personality develops, this implies that the study of the regularities of the communication process have an important role both in knowing the behavior of social groups, as of the individual personality.
- Vigotski and Rubinstein interpret communication as an exchange of thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. Andrea defines it as a way of realizing social relationships that takes place through direct and indirect personal contacts of personalities and groups in the process of their life and social activity. Prevechni and Shercovin point out that this represents a process of exchange of reports that contain the results of the reflection of reality by people, it is also an inseparable part of their social being and means of transformation and functioning of their individual and social consciousness.Viviana González et al. plant that is the most complex expression of human relationships, where an exchange of ideas, activities, attitudes,representations and experiences among men that constitutes an essential means of functioning and personality formation.
There are common elements within all these definitions that we will see below.
- 1st. Communication represents a form of human interrelation. In it it is expressed how men interact and in turn it constitutes a way for interaction. Communication as a form of interrelation that occurs between men cannot be seen apart from their activity. Communication is conditioned by the place that man occupies within his system of relationships. 4th. Communication is a transcendental element in the functioning and formation of the personality.
Tourism from Psychology is treated as a social phenomenon (Psychosociology). So it is a communicative effect between people.
Companies cannot exist without communication, because it is required to agree on the work to be carried out and to exchange instructions that allow doing the right thing to achieve goals and objectives.
Leaders and administrators require communication to coordinate the work of their subordinates. Cooperation between the members of a working group is based on communication, without it it would be impossible, because people could not make their needs known and obtain the understanding and support of others.
Tourism companies have to choose the most appropriate means of communication for the service they offer (depending on the consumer that is targeted), so they must also know and implement advertising communication strategies to become an attractive destination in different markets. Among which their managers must dominate are:
Cost leadership.- Consists of a company in the advertising message referring to the economic advantages it offers.
Differentiation.- In the advertising message, reference is made to the fact that the company offers a different product from the rest of the competition.
Concentration.- The company concentrates on a specific population sector to present a product or service made exclusively for them.
It is also essential that your management team develop the necessary social networks to achieve the full satisfaction of its clients, both internal and external, since without a doubt, a satisfied client also becomes an excellent communication channel through which the benefits of destination.
What are social communication skills?
It is the set of actions issued by an individual in an interpersonal context that expresses the feelings, attitudes, desires, opinions, or rights of that individual, in a way appropriate to the situation, respecting those behaviors in others, and that generally resolves the immediate problems of the situation while minimizing the probability of future problems.
Among the social skills that must be developed in workers and managers in the tourism sector, the following should be mentioned:
- Respond (content, feeling, meaning) Self-esteem Emotional intelligence Empathy Assertiveness Attend (physical attention, observing, listening)
Self esteem. It is the concept that we have of ourselves. To integrate the concept of self-esteem in our professional and personal communication, we must transmit with confidence, security, have faith in our own possibilities and potential.
Emotional Intelligence Ability to recognize one's feelings and those of others, implies being able to motivate and persist in the face of disappointment, control impulses, regulate mood and prevent disorders from diminishing reasoning ability. Show empathy
Assertiveness. Communication skills that allow the defense of one's rights by expressing what is believed, thought and felt clearly and directly, at the right time, respecting the rights of others.
It makes it possible to make decisions of your own accord, accept mistakes and successes of yourself and others, be self-affirming and at the same time gentle and considerate.
Attend (physical attention, observe, listen).
- To listen well we have to be involved. Listening is controlled. It is a skill that we can learn. We must consciously propose it.
Listening is not active if:
He allows his mind to wander, he does not focus on what is being presented to him.
Think of something else.
It reacts negatively to the speaker's manners, appearance, dress, accent, and other characteristics.
Disconnect because the message is difficult and tedious.
Take too many notes.
Talk to others while trying to listen
Some suggestions to strengthen the development of communication skills necessary to undertake powerful interactions in collaborative work can be:
Positive and constructive attitude on the part of the interlocutors. This presupposes speaking with the sincere spirit of contributing to the understanding and solution of the problems addressed.
They must want to understand each other. This involves: providing enough and necessary information so that they are understood, expressing ideas and arguments that have to do with what is being discussed, not leaving the subject, not speaking without knowing what you want to say, thinking ahead of time what you want to express, not improvise. Express your ideas in a way that others can understand, make sure that others understand how you understand it. Perceive the ease of understanding of others regarding what you express and adapt to their requirements. Don't pretend to be wise.
The interlocutors must respect the truth: according to Sullivan, 1995, the collaborative principle is characterized by; quality: saying truthful things; quantity: give fair information; relevance: timely or timely information, and in a pertinent way, in order to avoid the darkness and ambiguity in the dialogue. It is not necessary to say what is not known, what is false, or not to state emphatically things without proof.
They must respect each other. This presupposes avoiding arrogance, authoritarianism, coercion. A situation of equality must be created, in which no one monopolizes or centralizes the word and everyone is allowed to speak.
The interlocutors must be personally involved in the exchange of opinions and reasons, that is, they engage constructively in the dialogical discourse, considering the reasons of others, expressing their own and modifying them if necessary.
Here it is important to stop at some points on how to achieve a good listening.
In the communication process, it is relevant to know how to listen to the ideas of others. Sometimes when students are seen working in teams one of the greatest difficulties and demands of the members is correct listening, or attentive listening.
Dr. V. Ojalvo, 1999, expresses that good listening implies:
The ability to feel, to sensory perceive what another person transmits.
The ability to interpret, to understand the message captured, this aspect requires becoming aware of the possibilities of misrepresentation of messages, trying to differentiate facts from assumptions and opinions.
The ability to evaluate, to decide the importance and validity in a given context of what was heard.
The ability to reply to the caller's message.
Not being the only one who speaks, showing consideration and kindness towards the interlocutor, being willing to make listening an active part of the communication process, being interested in any topic that the person who starts, judging the content of the message and not its form of expression, making an effort to attend, avoiding distractions, keeping the mind open and flexible are attitudes that according to some authors, help to listen better.
Collaborative work can be affected by "defensive listening", which consists of protecting our positions, listening but without being receptive to what the other says, wanting to influence him, but without giving him the possibility of influencing us. In it, the interlocutor is considered as the object of the communication.
This defensive listening is generally manifested through non-verbal communication: head movements, gestures, interruptions, etc. They do not promote understanding or make the speaker feel understood.
Showing flexibility and tolerance based on the recognition that people are not perfect and that therefore we tend to make mistakes is another of the communication requirements for collaborative work.
Optimal communication requires the establishment of a common meaning in understanding the messages. The paraphrase, that is to say, repeating with our words what the other has expressed to us is an effective method that helps the subject to verify if he has truly understood the intention of the other's communication, Empathy must be shown, which allows the other person to be encouraged to express himself as completely and freely as possible, by showing him that we are able to put ourselves in his place and try to understand the matter from his point of view.
Aggressive responses, useless polemics, whose only origin may be in the animosity or prejudice one has towards some of the interlocutors, must be avoided. Do not look for double intentions and hidden pretensions in what others say and avoid saying things with double intentions and pretensions. You must dialogue confidently.
The creation of an appropriate environment for collaboration requires from those who interact the intelligent handling of conflict situations.
In this direction, specific behaviors such as shared responsibility for conflict and recognition of the imperfection and subjectivity of perception must be put into practice.
Control emotional states and try to adequately express the feelings that the situation has awakened.
Discuss with the interlocutor what are the possible causes of the conflict.
Find a solution to the conflict, suggest what the interlocutor can do to help him eliminate the negative feelings that have arisen.
Give feedback to the interlocutor not only on the aspects that are valued negatively in him, but also on those that are considered positive.
Do not do what we do not want to do to us in interaction with others.
In this sense, optimal interpersonal communication is an essential condition to guarantee a collaborative environment.
It is incumbent on the training and education centers of the personnel working in the tourism sector to guarantee that the teaching-learning process nourishes our students with strategies that promote dialogue and reflection, as well as the cooperative solution of problems in the establishment of common projects which will serve as a basis for the development of skills in the field of communication and teamwork.
Bibliography Consulted.
- (Castellanos Simos Beatriz. In defense of dialogue, Digitized material. C. Habana, 1996Castellanos Simons Doris. Understanding learning processes: notes for a conceptual framework. Research: Educational change in Basic Secondary Education. CEE, Faculty of Sciences of Education, ISPEJV, C. Habana, February 1999. Fernández González Ana María and others. Educational Communication. Editorial Pueblo y Educación, C. Habana, 1995. Fernández González Ana María. Communication Skills. In: Educational Communication, collective authors of CEPES, University of Havana, Havana, 1999. Competition as a factor of professional efficiency of the educator. Doctoral Thesis. (González Rey Fernando. Communication, Personality and Development. Editorial Pueblo and Education, C. Habana, 1995 Page 39Pig JM Learn to dialogue.Activities to raise awareness of dialogue skills. Editorial Aique Bs As, 1995. Page 1-4.Ojalvo Mitrany Victoria. How to make communication more effective?
