Communication skills?
Too often I've seen the Captain abdicate his/her position as the coordinator of information. In the States, the gate agent (usually the focus of passenger complaints and assorted ire.) receives very little information as to the cause of flight delays.
Many times I've had fellow crewmembers transit the ticket counter and hide in the cockpit to escape the passenger's questions. "Not my job...I don't get paid enough to do that!"
Some crewmembers even behave as if they're perversely enjoying the delays and that only convinces our passengers that we are enjoying their misery.
The best way I've found to diffuse incendiary situations on the ground is to:
!. Validate their feelings - "I understand how you feel..." - this demonstrates that their message has been communicated and received.
2. Establish rapport - "The same thing happened to me once..." - This helps the passenger to listen rather than demand.
3. Explain your point of view - "But this is what I've found..."
This is best remembered as the "Feel, Felt, Found" system. I've used it many times and in many different situations and it works well.
Another thing I've learned (from a US street cop) is that when speaking with a combative passenger is to thoughtfully hold my chin with my hand (to block possible punches to the face if a passenger escalates the confrontation). That combined with a "breakaway tie" helps me to maintain a safe distance.
On one memorable flight (at a Part 121 Supplemental airline) we were waiting for our inbound flight from Las Vegas when they weather diverted to an airport 300 miles (480 km) away. We were the only relief crew in that time zone (the other crew had duty timed out) and we were unable to fly to the diversion airport so we rented a car and drove to meet the plane and rescue the passengers. They were angry...rightfully so, and I agreed with them, they had every right to be angry, we screwed up and they got bad service!
But I did explain what we were doing to make it right and that the situation was caused by the fog (however, I left out the part about our lazy dispatchers not looking for closer alternates).
In fact, when we arrived back at the destination airport we were cheered by the passengers who watched us leave and drive 6 hours to get the airplane and fly them to Florida. The point was, sometimes you just need to look like you're making an effort! That makes all the difference in the world to the "peeps".
I still think communication is the hardest skill to teach to a Captain upgrade.
Doodah