Tour Guide - Chap 7(htt257)

CHAPTER 7

YOUR TOUR COMMENTA RY

WHAT IS COMMENTARY? Any information provided to the audience - Occurs during: a) Leading people on a site tour b) Meet and greet c) Arrival & departure d) Coach tour e) Part of pre-tour and specific event activities -

STRUCTURE OF COMMENTARY THE INTRODUCTION - Captures audience attention - Outlines the theme of the commentary and tour - Provide direction and ideas of what’s coming up THE BODY - Fleshes out the theme of tour - Introduce a chosen list of key ideas, messages and extend them THE CONCLUSION - Wraps up the main points

BUILDING YOUR COMMENTARY It is like creating a story… c) d) e) f) g) h)

Interpretive commentary will: Focus on a particular topic A theme Particular story-line Relevant information and activities Clear, concise, accurate, interesting information Opportunities to reveal, provoke and evoke

ANY CONSIDERATION??  Length

of the tour and itineraries  Tour route and site characteristics  Mode of transport  Audience characteristics  No of people  Level of intelligence  Purpose of the tour

COMMENTARY TOPICS d) e) f)

Broad subject areas Initial focus for the tour Can focus on: Place People Process

EXAMPLES OF TOPICS  National

park tours a) Habitats b) Ecology c) Flora & Fauna d) Land management

COMMENTARY THEME - The story-line for the tour - Frames your activity, organizes and connects various elements of the tour - Eg at pg 173

FLESHING OUT THE THEME -

Delivery of commentary - Should apply all the presentation techniques such as: a) Accurate and relevant information b) Consider cultural and social sensitivities c) Use appropriate language d) Non-verbals supports e) Varieties in delivery styles and vocal techniques f) Enthusiastic, friendly and professionals g) Natural and relaxed in your delivery Evaluation of commentary - Ask yourself: a) Incorporated any other props? b) Was your delivery clear? c) Presented in sequential and logical order? d) Did the audience know theme and take-home message?

Enriching your commentary GUIDES SHOULD: a) Strive to enrich commentary by incorporating a variety of delivery techniques approaches b) Seeking and maintaining the involvement of the audience c) Create audience's desire to buy by:  Capturing the attention of your audience  Delivering information in a variety of forms  Making your tour interesting, relevant and meaningful  Incorporating props  -

Capturing the attention of your audience Incorporating subject matters with the following characteristics: 1. Topical, novelty & provocative 2. Focus social information & human interest 3. Includes humor 4. Include mystery, suspense, drama & shock elements 5. Relates to something that works 6. Showing is much more powerful than saying 7. Fascinating, unusual, challenging myths 8. Entertaining 9. Interactive 10. Spontaneous situations and emphasizes being ‘in the moment’ 11. Relates to a ‘props bag’ 12. Demonstrating a genuine and honest interest in their well-being, interests, satisfying their needs & providing exceptional customer service

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Delivering information in a variety of forms Forms of information delivery: 1. Anecdotes & stories - Should be used as appropriate and not overused - Too many can overwhelm your audience - Just one form of a story which can be incorporated into commentary - Others can be personal experiences, oral histories, myths and legends and humorous tales 2. Ask questions and/or pose a problem - Encourage audience to think out the given questions or problems 3. Facts and statistics / analogies and metaphors - When using statistics and factual information, try to disperse them throughout your commentary rather than as one clump - When statistics are difficult to comprehend, incorporate them within a metaphor or analogy

4. Mixed up the ‘what’ elements - mix up the ‘what’ element within your presentation with descriptive words and active phrasings, expressing verbs, short sentence and long sentence 5. Mixed up the senses - Encouraging people to look at things in a different ways - Encourage people to smell and sniff, touch and taste 6. Demonstration – Show people how things actually works 7. Testimonials - Previous people/users 8. Examples, illustrations and case studies 9. Meter or mnemonics 10. Games and quizzes

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Making your tour interesting, relevant and meaningful

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Be flexible in accommodate diversity within the audience/environment Seek ways for the audience to make the personal connection (satisfactions) Used human element ( being empathetic, enthusiastic and inspiring Leave out rumors and gossip Relate what you are saying to something within their own experience Provide opportunities for silence and reflection Keep your word and phrasing simple

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Incorporating props

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Specialist speakers Blindfolds Magnifying glasses Booklets and reference materials Artifacts Cupping ears for sound and curling hand for telescope

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Techniques for enlarging your world of words        

Patterns of rhyme Alliteration Repetition Refrain Rule of three Parallel sentence structures Analogy Six words or less

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