Lecture 3 Tour Guiding Techniques

Lecture plan

· Presentation in a guided tour

· Tour commentaries / narration

· Tour guide‘s profession

· Job requirements

· A tour guide‘s personality

· A tour guide‘s speech culture

· A guide‘s speech technique

· Audio support devices

· Tour guiding rapport

Presentation and Tour Commentaries in a guided tour ( Показ и рассказ в экскурсии )

Presentation skills for Tour Guides ( Canarini Tour Guides Lesson 5 )

Public speaking comes under a lot of different forms. The two most important forms required for a tour guide profession are presentation and commentary. Public engaging connecting with the customers is a fundamental aspect to being a successful tour guide.

Commentary is a technique when a tour guide engages his or her visitors on a tour bus, boat or other onboard transportation with commentaries about the upcoming locations or any fun facts or comments to keep visitors informed or entertained.

Presentations are usually conducted face-to-face at an attraction or a tourist site. Vocal delivery is the most important part of the presentation where hand motions, body language and tone of voice must be used wisely to increase engagement. A presentation enables the tour guide to show his group that he is enthusiast and devoted to deliver the best for his customers.

Tour commentary planning

For the best quality of any public presentation or commentary a thorough planning is compulsory and you can achieve it by following these basic steps.

· Understand the needs and interests of your tour group in order to create an interesting schedule.

· Have all the itinerary details such as duration, features of the tour confirmed.

· Carefully research and gather all the detailed information about the sites to be visited.

· Prepare the text based on these facts and any additional anecdotes that might be relevant.

· Read through the text and practice the delivery until you are confident. Deliver your speech without the need to depend on your written notes.

Delivering tour commentary

Presentations and commentaries include:

1. Welcoming tourists.

· Introduce yourself to the group with a short bow.

· Regular announcement.

- Ensure that all your guests are comfortably seated before departure.

- Briefly show and demonstrate the safety steps for emergency evacuation.

- Provide general information of the trip duration, routes, weather and the hotel where the guests will be staying.

- Introduce the driver to all guests.

- Brief on refreshment stops.

- Remind the guests on no-smoking rule and stay safe on the trip.

· Welcome to your destination

At the start of the tour make sure that your guests understand when you say which way you say left and right.

2. Describing the destination

This is the time to use your presentation skill. Present all the facts and information on the history, culture and unique remarks of the visited destination. Information will vary from different places. Therefore, focus on telling your group more about the remarks in each location. Some might be the natural history on nature, others might be interesting customs and traditions of generations of people. Giving your group a bit of fun facts is always a great way to engage their attention and make the trip more memorable.

3. Interact with your guests

· Speak with moderation to allow some quiet time for your guests to think and process information they‘ve received from you.

· Prepare some funny stories and quizzes with winning prizes for everyone in order to encourage interactions among your guests.

· Create a friendship between each other to make the trip more exciting.

· Schedule photo opportunities from time to time to let the group capture their trip.

4. Closing remarks

· Inform your group that the tour is going to an end.

· Ask your guests if they have any questions.

· Announce the next schedule if applicable.

· Remind your passengers to check their belonging before leaving the seats.

The technical tips for using a ‗mic‘ are relatively standard.

· Hold the microphone about 30 cm away from your face and speak in a normal tone.

· Ask your passengers if they can all hear you clearly. If not, try holding the mic closer before raising your voice but not too close as you may experience a whining noise called feedback.

· If possible turn around to face the group but safety restrictions on board might mean that you have to sit facing forward.

· Do your best at projecting your voice.

· Monitor the pitch and speed of your sentences from time to time to make sure your passengers hear you and do not get bored.

Some tour buses can feature a wireless microphone or headset which allows greater movement for the tour guide. These are well worth trying but you may need some practice to perfect the delivery using the headset.

Commentary or delivery on a Bus/Boat/Walking ( Canarini Tour Guide Lesson 6 )

Here are some tips and considerations for guiding duties.

· Front seat or back seat

Find the best place to stand that allows you to see all the passengers and vice versa but be careful not to obstruct the driver‘s view of the road or side mirrors. Sitting at the front of the bus allows the tour guide to communicate with the driver on relevant matters. It also enhances the engagement between you and your guests and face-to-face guiding creates a more trusting connection rather than talking from the back. The tour guide should stand up from time to time and speak to the group while facing them.

· Pace and delivery on passing through attractions

At the start of the tour let your group know which way it is when you say left and right. Be specific with your directions. Avoid pointing while saying over there but rather to the front and on you left, for example. Practice timing the delivery speech coming up on the right, so as the vehicle approaches the site passengers will be looking at the right direction. There is nothing that annoys visitors more than being told ―We‘ve just passed the most famous building in the world when they didn‘t have the chance to see it because you didn‘t time the speech right. If you can choose the

route choose a circular itinerary so you can circle important streets twice. This will allow visitors on both sides of the vehicle to have a better sightseeing opportunity.

· Pace the commentary according to the speed of the vehicle and the traffic flow

Sometimes there may be nothing interesting to see on the road. So tell some funny stories or create quizzes for your group. Alternatively, you can stretch your commentary during the dull phases with stories and anecdotes until there are interesting sights coming up. A guide person must be an excellent story-teller who is able to conjure up images with words and descriptions. It‘s also encouraging to add personal comments if you live in the area. Engage passengers through words, pictures and narrations. When adding personal comments if you live in the area being toured be selective with the stories. Avoid stories related to sensitive issues such as politics, religions, races or genders. Do not speak non-stop. Aim to speak around 80% of the time and leave some thinking quiet time for the passengers to chat amongst themselves and to digest what you have said. Avoid using pre-prepared notes as prompters. Don‘t overly rely the speech on your written notes because it shows an unprofessional attitude and passengers will lose confidence in your knowledge.