Fundamentals of Effective Communication in the Workplace
Donna S
BUS100
Professor X
February 5, 2011

Fundamentals of Effective Communication in the Workplace My previous job was that of a Flight Attendant Manager, and my workplace was usually in an enclosed metal tube flying at 38,000 feet. Effective communications in the workplace in the Airline industry ensure that all Flight Attendants are mentally prepared in the event of an emergency, know their onboard duties, helps to avoid miscommunications, and most importantly, saves lives.
As a Flight Attendant Manager, we were required to hold Safety briefings before every flight. I would review our FAA manuals and write down Medical and Safety questions as well as questions about the safety equipment we had on board the aircraft; the questions were on small flash cards. Each Flight Attendant would draw three questions, and I always included myself to remind them that although I was a manager, my Safety priorities when in-flight were the same as theirs. If a Flight Attendant was unable to answer a question, they then had to retrieve the onboard manual we would find the answer as a group. Medical and Safety questions are mandatory, and the questions asked beforehand allowed each Flight Attendant to prepare mentally. I would also perform a brief medical scenario that required the use of the medical and safety equipment; this was to ensure all my Flight Attendants were mentally prepared in the event of medical emergencies and knew where all the emergency equipment was for that particular aircraft. The Flight Attendants are assigned their jump seats and according to where they are, responsibilities for emergency doors, equipment and procedures assigned. As anyone that has flown a commercial flight is aware, before the plane departs, the Flight Attendants perform the Safety Announcements. These announcements are a briefing and instruct passengers to view the Safety instruction card but most importantly reminds them that in the event of an emergency to follow the instructions of the Flight Attendants to ensure their safety.
On a return flight from South America and as we were making our descent, the Captain called me into the Flight Deck and informed me that there was an issue with the landing gear and electrical panels. The indicators lights did not come on, and they could not verify whether the nose cone landing gear had deployed and even worse, if they had, there was no way of knowing if the gear housing had locked into place. The Captain instructed me to prepare the cabin for an emergency landing. I went back into the cabin, called all Flight Attendants on the intercom, via conference informed them of our current situation, and gave instructions to secure the cabin. I quickly asked each Flight Attendant what their door responsibilities were and which emergency equipment they were to take upon evacuation. I asked my bilingual Flight Attendant to repeat my announcements from the rear of the aircraft, reminding her to ensure her voice remained calm. I then gave them a quick word of praise and assurance, and I told them to prepare to react in the event the passengers became alarmed. The feedback from my Flight Attendants were those of calm and confidence. I then hung up to make the emergency announcement to the passengers. The PA announcement to the passengers was calm, unrushed, and received in a surprisingly unalarmed manner. There was no screaming or hysterics; the passengers were told upon hearing the Captain announce “Brace, Brace, Brace!” over the PA, to bend over into the brace position. The cabin was silent as all eyes were on the Flight Attendance as we quickly demonstrated the “Brace” position and gave instruction to anyone in the Emergency Exits. Once we secured the cabin and passengers, I informed the Captain that we were ready for landing. The Captain then told me that the tower had confirmed that our landing gear was in fact down, but locked was still an uncertainty, he said “4 minutes”. I was relieved, went back into the cabin, and informed the Flight Attendants and passengers of the news; this helped to alleviate some of the fear. Those “4 minutes” were the longest and the quietest I had ever experienced. Finally, we heard the call for brace and myself along with the other Flight Attendants yelled repeated “Bend over! Heads down!” until there we felt a thump and the entire cabin went quiet (even us Flight Attendants), and since my seat was backed up against the Flight Deck, I heard a loud “Hell yeah!” That is when most of the passengers raised their heads (mine too), and they all started to clap! The nose gear had locked in place!
Effective communications in this emergency landing played a crucial role in the success of the Captain and Flight Attendants in the performance of our duties. The Captain and Flight Deck crew was able to focus strictly on landing the plane safely without having to worry about what was going on in the back of the aircraft. Keeping the passengers informed in both English and Spanish ensured they were aware of the situation and instructions given to them by the Flight Attendants. There were no incidents within the cabin due to panic. Flight Attendants kept informed as I received updates from the Captain if we were all on the same page. Briefings performed before, during and after the flight to ensure that all Flight Attendants knew what their responsibilities and roles were. There were no misunderstandings and even the passengers applauded our efforts to ensure their safety. Several passengers wrote letters to our airline thanking them for our proper training. Because there were no additional emergencies due to the malfunction, the airline only had to park the aircraft 24 hours for maintenance and no flights interrupted. This led to no loss revenue nor was there an adverse report from the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board). Effective communications in this situation saved lives.