American Airlines flight attendant shows how to communicate with customers in difficult times

Breaunna Ross of American Airlines was laid off from her job as a flight attendant recently. On her last flight, she was recorded giving a heartfelt appreciation to her customers and her employer. Bill Murphy Jr., a columnist at Inc. magazine, analyzed what made her speech so memorable.

Here’s what Bill said about it…

There are always things to be grateful for, in almost any situation. The fact that Ross was able to identify them, and articulate them, and spend so much time focusing on them, made her message really connect….

Ross also spent much of her message talking about the positive things that happened as a result of working for American Airlines: the chance to see parts of the world she wouldn’t have otherwise, the people she worked with and friendships she made, and even the fact that it offered an “escape” from another job after college that she hadn’t enjoyed.

Of course she acknowledges the big negatives: the global pandemic, the fact that thousands of airline workers are losing their jobs, etc. Much like the gratitude she expressed however, focusing on the positivity made it easy for the passengers to feel empathy for her.

Inc.: This Flight Attendant’s Final Message is a Lesson in Emotional Intelligence, 2020-Oct-4 by Bill Murphy Jr.

See a followup interview with Breaunna Ross.