4 Responses

1. Body Language Cards

   Hi Sharon You could give out cards to each delegate with various types of body language stated on them. ie Aggressive, Shy, Impatient, Demanding etc etc.. Each delegate has to stand and "be" that person and the group then guess what the person is being and then discuss how to engage with that type of behaviour / body language. Engaging, good learning, interactive and about as real as you can get without customers. Good luck! Steve

2. Use their own experiences
   Hi Sharon

   This works best if it’s done prior to the course. get them to rate 3 customer experiences they have in the week leading up to the course. This could be on the telephone or face to face. If you want to be prescriptive you can give them subject headings to mark such as speed of service, efficiency, friendliness, overall impressions etc.

   This then gives you a foundation to work from on the course.

   Regards

   Sue

3. Body Language Exercise
   One of the most important body language signals is to see whether a person has taken an open or defensive body posture. People are usually quite good at spotting others’ defensive stance, and unconsciously pick it up, but they fail to see themselves doing it.

   Hence an exercise here is useful. For example, role play customer service experience with some as customers and some as staff. Privately ask the customers to be defensive; arms crossed legs crossed and stiff body posture. Staff need to deal with the customers and should realise that the customer is defensive and make sure they have an open posture.

   You can do an opposite exercise as well and show how a customer might feel when the service personnel are defensive.
   Just a thought.

   Ehsan Honary

4. Re: Body Language

    

   Hi, I’m not completely sold on your current methodology regarding body language. While it is true that body language divulges quite a bit; it can also be said that people who work in restaurants tend to -simply put- not give a shit. The first thing you have to understand about the restaurant is that most have an ass backward viewpoint -A downward spiraling frame of mind, if you will. Meaning; you show me a failing restaurant and I will show you chefs and cooks and servers alike who unconsciously and ignorantly view dish as the dump. -As the trash -As the end point. Dish is not the end point and it is not the beginning. Dish is the pivot point, and hence the single most important position in any restaurant. This is precisely why I pay my dishwashers 15-25 per hour. If that sounds crazy, then you are victims of the same thought trapping force that plagues unsuccessful restaurants. If you have an intellectual curiosity to learn, I will gladly teach you how to build a restaurant around dish.