The document outlines the key skills and responsibilities of a receptionist. It discusses that receptionists are often the first point of contact and must embody professionalism through their behavior and appearance. Core responsibilities include communication skills like greeting visitors, answering phones, and ensuring information flows accurately. Receptionists also need strong technology, organization, and multitasking skills to handle multiple tasks simultaneously like phone calls and visitors. Additional important qualities are friendliness, intelligence about the company, tolerance, patience, confidence, and being likable and approachable.

1. Receptionist Skills
Hansala Indrachapa

2. Receptionists
▪ Receptionists are, by definition, the first person
whom a visitor normally sees.

3. Receptionist Skills

4. Professionalism
▪ As a receptionist, you’re supposed to be the first person a
client or other visitor sees upon arriving.That means you
are responsible for providing everyone’s first impression of
your employer.You must therefore embody your
company’s ideals, both in your behavior and in your
appearance.
▪ Look the part. Greet everyone with a smile and a kind word
and show that you are happy to help.

5. Communication Skills
▪ Communication is very important, since your primary job is to greet
people, find out what they need, and help them get it.
▪ Most of this communication will be verbal, either in person or by
telephone. Besides interacting with visitors, you will also have to work
closely with all the various people whom visitors come to see. If an
important meeting falls through, you may have to explain why. If
someone is having a bad day, you may bear the brunt of it. If an
emergency develops in or in front of your place of business, you may be
the first person who must respond to it and decide what to do.
▪ And always you will have to make sure information flows through you
accurately and efficiently

6. Technology Skills
▪ Most obviously, you will be using a telephone system,
probably one featuring multiple internal and external lines
that you must keep operating smoothly.You’ll also most
likely need to be familiar with spreadsheets, word-
processing software, your company’s email and file-sharing
systems, and possibly several social media platforms and
your company’s own software solutions. And there will be a
copy machine.
▪ There is always a copy machine and the paper will always
jam. Can you fix it?

7. Organization
▪ You will be the nexus of a large part of your
employer’s internal communication.
▪ That means you’ll not only have to keep yourself
organized, you’ll have to keep everyone else
organized, too.
▪ You may also be responsible for stocking and
straightening reading materials or informational
resources in your waiting area as well.

8. Multitasking Capability
▪ You will seldom have only one thing to attend to. A new phone
call may come in while you are still online with the first, so you
must greet the new caller and then switch back. Meanwhile,
three people might be waiting in person to talk to you.You will
have to keep the needs of each person separate in your mind,
not neglect anyone, and not get overwhelmed or frustrated.
▪ Some people enjoy the challenge. Some do not.
▪ If you can multitask well, you can be an asset to your employer
and your company, and you'll likely be successful as a
receptionist.

9. Friendly
▪ A good receptionist should be friendly to visitors
and other people that come to their offices. He/she
must be able to relate very well with his colleagues
and visitors.
▪ This does not mean that he/she should play around
during office hours; however, having a good sense
of humor and ability to make people smile is a
quality that makes a receptionist outstanding.

10. Intelligence
▪ This is another important quality of a good
receptionist. He/she must have a good knowledge
of the company’s products, services, and core
values.
▪ This helps him/her to tackle questions and inquiries
coming from visitors from time to time.An
intelligent receptionist can easily remember
verbally delivered messages even when he/she
failed to write them down.

11. Tolerance and Patience
▪ These qualities are common with most good
receptionists. In fact, they are must have qualities
for all front office employees.
▪ Some clients or visitors can be very annoying,
requiring a great level of tolerance and patience for
a receptionist to deal with. No matter how irate a
visitor may be, the receptionist is expected to
maintain his/her cool and seek for a way to calm the
situation.

12. Likable and Approachable
▪ Theses qualities are very important for all front
office employees.
▪ Aside from being friendly, a receptionist must
exude a likable aura. He/she must be a person that
visitors feel at ease to approach for inquiries.
He/she should not have an intimidating appearance.
▪ This particular quality accounts for the reason most
companies prefer to employ ladies as receptionists.

13. Self-confidence
▪ A good receptionist must have confidence in
his/her abilities.
▪ He/she must at all times show visitors that he/she is
capable of handling his/her duties very well.
▪ With this, he/she can confidently convince clients of
the benefits they stand to gain by patronizing or
partnering with the firm.

14. SKILLS
•Customer Service
•Data Entry
•Delivering Mail
•Diplomacy
•DirectingVisitors
•Email Correspondence
•Event Planning
•Filing
•Forwarding Phone Calls
•Friendly
•Front Desk Operations
•GreetingVisitors
•Interpersonal
•Issuing Security Passes
•Accuracy
•Administrative Support
•Answering Questions
•Appointment Scheduling
•Assisting Others
•Attention to Detail
•Clerical Support
•Client Relations
•Communication
•Computer
•ConfirmAppointments
•Correspondence
•Customer Focus
•Mail
•Managing Guest Books
•Meetings
•MessageTaking
•Microsoft Office
•Office Duties/Equipment/Support
•Organization
•Phone Calls
•Prioritization
•Providing Information
•Providing Reading Materials
•Punctuality
•Registering
•Reliability

15. SKILLS Conti:
•Research
•Screening and Directing Calls
•Self-motivated
•Switchboard
•Teamwork
•Telephone
•Time Management
•Validating Parking Passes
•Verbal Communication
•Waiting Area Maintenance
•WelcomeVisitors
•Word Processing
•Written Communication

16. THANK YOU
Hansala Indrachapa