Business_Spotlight_-_Nr.2_2020

46 Business Spotlight 2/2020 BUSINESS SKILLS

Fotos: Victor Metelskiy/iStock.com; Gert Krautbauer

Ken Taylor: Could you describe the job of

a flight attendant?

Thanin Seesom: Most passengers think

the main job of a flight attendant is to

serve them food and drink. But the work

involves much more than that, of course.

Our main priority is to ensure the safety

of the aircraft and of the passengers. After

that, I would describe my role as being a

mixture of that of a housekeeper, security

guard, nurse, waiter, therapist and family

counsellor!

Taylor: You must meet a large number of

people with different linguistic and cul­

tural backgrounds, and with very differ­

ent personalities.

Seesom: And that’s just the crew! I’m not

joking. Our crew members come from all

over the world, but we have to work as a

tightly knit team from the moment we

get together. Besides the practical tasks of

running a flight, we have to deal with up

to 340 passengers — who also come from

all over the world.

Taylor: Presumably, you learn how to deal

with different and difficult customers

during your initial training programme.

Seesom: We do. We are taught how to

deal with people under the influence of

alcohol or drugs, with unruly, aggressive

customers, with people who want to com­

plain and with people who are nervous

about flying.

Taylor: When you are faced with these dif­

ficulties, it’s very easy to become personal­

ly involved and upset. But, I suppose, the

first rule must be to stay calm and collect­

ed, which is easier said than done.

Seesom: It certainly is. But as you gain

experience, you learn how to manage the

situation. You learn not to take it person­

ally when someone is being difficult.

aircraft

[(eEkrA:ft]

, Flugzeug

collected [kE(lektId]

, gefasst

counsellor

[(kaUnsElE]

, Berater(in);

hier: Therapeut(in)

ensure sth. [In(SO:]

, etw. sicherstellen

faced: be ~ with [feIst]

, mit etw. konfrontiert

werden

initial training

[I)nIS&l (treInIN]

, Schulung für Berufs-

anfänger(innen)

nurse [n§:s]

, (Kranken-)Pfleger(in)

presumably

[pri(zju:mEbli]

, vermutlich

tightly knit

[)taItli (nIt]

, engmaschig;

hier: eng verbunden

unruly [Vn(ru:li]

, widerspenstig,

undiszipliniert

upset [)Vp(set]

, verärgert; auch: aus dem

Gleichgewicht gebracht

waiter [(weItE]

, Kellner

BUSINESS SKILLS

PERSONAL TRAINER

Dealing with

different kinds of people

In den unterschiedlichsten Situationen trifft man auf die verschiedensten Menschen,

ob auf einem Langstreckenflug oder in einem Wochenendseminar. Worin sich das

Arbeiten mit Flugpassagieren und Seminarteilnehmern gleicht, erfahren Sie in

diesem Gespräch, das KEN TAYLOR mit einem Flugbegleiter führt.

MEDIUM AUDIO

flight attendant

[(flaIt E)tendEnt]

, Flugbegleiter(in)

long-haul flight

[)lQN hO:l (flaIt]

, Langstreckenflug

THANIN SEESOM

is a Thai flight

attendant work-

ing for a Eu-

ropean airline.

He works mainly

on long-haul

flights between

Europe and North

America. He has

been a flight

attendant for

five years.

KEN TAYLOR

is a communica-

tion consultant,

personal coach

and author of

50 Ways to Im-

prove Your Busi-

ness English

(Lulu Publish-

ing). Contact:

KTaylor868@aol.

com

AUDIO

Listen to more tips

from Ken Taylor

on Business

Spotlight Audio.

To order, go to

http://www.aboshop.

spotlight-verlag.de