How To Lead A Guided Tour
The Public Speaker has the do’s and don’ts of leading a guided tour. Learn how to engage your group and make them want to come back for more.
Recently our family decided wed like to explore our local flora and fauna. Lucky for us, our county environmental center regularly leads guided tours of various preserved areas. On our first hike, our guide tore a sassafras leaf so we could smell it . He pointed out a mature American Chestnut tree which is rare . And he proudly showed us a rain garden which he and his team built to reduce the amount of pollution reaching our creeks and streams.
We enjoyed our tour, but the communication expert in me couldnt resist evaluating our guides communication skills. Im sure many of you are asked to give tours as part of your work or community service. So I decided to write this episode to help you be a better tour guide!.
Determine Whether You Actually Want This Job And Have The Skills Necessary
Its easy to be seduced by the dream of being paid to travel, but the reality is a lot tougher. This is a job that rewards people who hustle, who are good at networking, and dont mind the uncertainty of the gig economy.
While youll learn a lot on the job, you should make sure you have basic possession of the following skills, and a desire to improve and learn:
Personal Requirements For A Tour Guide
- Mature
- Understanding and acceptance of different cultures
- Good organisational skills
- Excellent general knowledge of Australia and regional touring areas
- Problem-solving skills and ability to think logically
- Excellent communication and negotiation skills
- Able to cope with the physical demands of the job
Also Check: Tickets To Louvre Museum Online
You Are In The Visit Section
Around the world in 70 minutes
Desire, love, identity: an LGBTQ tour
Eye-opener tours: 40 minutes
Hands on desks: 11.0016.00
Friday night spotlight tours: 20 minutes
Get to know the collection through tours, talks and Hands on desks.
Travel around the world in 70 minutes on our guided highlights tour and explore some of the Museum’s most famous objects. Or discover LGBTQ themes and histories in the collection with our Desire, love, identity tour. Take a look below for more details.
The safety and security of our staff and visitors is very important to us. In line with recent government guidance, you must wear a face covering inside the Museum for the protection of yourself and others, unless youre exempt or are visiting one of our cafés. Please also be considerate of people and exercise social distancing where you can especially in smaller spaces. Hand sanitiser stations can be found throughout the Museum and we recommend washing or sanitising your hands regularly. Contactless payment is preferred in our shops and cafés. Staff are available to advise if you have any questions.
Please do not visit if you feel unwell or have COVID-19 symptoms.
All measures are subject to change in accordance with government guidelines and Museum regulations.
Get Hired As A Museum Curator
Once you’ve achieved the combined amount of education, skill development and experience needed to work as a museum curator, apply for jobs. Using a website like Indeed Job Search you can find museum curator positions in cities near you.
Prepare your resume before you apply, making sure to add all relevant experience and tailor a cover letter to each job you apply to. Something to consider when preparing your resume and cover letter is to select keywords from the job description and use those throughout your documents.
Related:
Here are some frequently asked questions to consider before becoming a museum curator:
You May Like: Natural History Museum New York Shop
# Avoid Taking Pictures
Lose the phone when at the museum!
Museums are places to enjoy at a slow pace. That way, they transfer you to some different world. And although some exhibits could be so beautiful and interesting to you, dont take photos of them.
First, if using the flash, youre damaging the paintings that are often hundreds of years old. And since the light is often dim at museums, the quality of your photos wont be the best.
Museum shops are selling the postcards with the majority of the artworks they host, so you can keep the memory to it in that way. And very often, you can find great high-quality photos of the paintings on their website.
Another thing is that you are ruining the experience to other visitors who are trying to enjoy in those exhibits. And are ruining the experience to yourself, too. So, lose the phone and enjoy a wonderful relaxed museum visit.
The Rise Of The Creative Audio Guide
Graham Davies, Digital Programmes Manager at the Amgueddfa Cymru National Museum of Wales, describes how their museum doesnt currently supply traditional audio tours, instead opting for more dynamic and agile audio methods to complement its art installations.
The best examples of creative audio guides are crafted by experienced production teams, who bring together a range of factors like professional voice actors, translators, sound editors and archivists to ensure a memorable and engrossing product for the target audience. By taking the time to identify and tailor content towards the appropriate audience, guide creators can meet the demands of children to history lovers foreign visitors to art experts.
You May Like: Art Museums In Taos New Mexico
You May Need To Apply For A Visa Through Immigration New Zealand
If you are not a New Zealand citizen or resident, you may need to apply for a specific purpose work visa before you arrive in New Zealand to work as a tour guide.
If you are a tour guide who is a Chinese national, you may be able to apply under the China Special Work Category. You can apply from within New Zealand if you hold a valid work or student visa.
What Is A Museum Tour Guide
A tour guide in a museum, also known as a museum docent, serves as an ambassador, educator and entertainer for the museum. These individuals possess a thorough knowledge of a museum’s exhibits, which allows them to explain an exhibit or artifact’s significance, and answer any questions that guests might have. Museum tour guides use their expertise to keep guests engaged. This sometimes involves leading large groups of individuals in a wide range of age groups, including children.
Related:
Don’t Miss: Legion Of Honor Museum Store
# Buy Your Ticket Online
There is nothing worse than staring your visit by queuing in front of the museum for a few hours just to get in. And thats the sad reality when visiting many of those world-famous museums.
However, be smart and purchase your museum ticket online before your visit. You can often do that on the museum website. Or, you can do as I do, and use the platform called Tiqets to buy all of your museum tickets online.
That way you can go straight to the entrance and get into the museum immediately.
Excellent Problem Solving Skills
Just like any job, problems tend to arise, but when you are on a tour with a group of people to look after, the problems can sometimes be quite big. Problems could range from tour buses breaking down and leaving the group stranded to one of the passengers getting ill and needing to get rushed to the hospital. Problems can also be small ones, like a passenger complaining that they are too hot, or some members of the group arguing. You have to be a good problem solver if you hope to be a good tour guide, and know how to deal with anything that comes your way quickly and effortlessly. Companies have to know that they can trust whoever they hire to handle any situation efficiently and effectively.
You May Like: How Much Is The Art Museum
# Get Familiar With The Collection Its Home To On Their Website
Okay, so youve chosen the museum or more of them, youd like to visit.
The next step is to research the museum itself. Visit their website and see what the highlights in it are. Do they host some of the world most famous masterpieces? Or the work of a painter you like? Maybe they have a nice collection of an art style you love? Its good to check all of that before your trip, so you can plan your museum visit better.
I also love to research the museum website before my visit to see are there any special events taking place during my time there. Temporary exhibitions, lectures or art workshops could be a great way to make your visit even more enjoyable.
In case some art pieces are on loan, or if some galleries are temporarily closed, youll know how to plan your museums visit better, too.
Avoid The Crowd What Is The Best Time To Visit The Louvre Museum
If you want to miss the crowds and you plan on visiting the Louvre independently without a Tour Guide, early mornings or evenings are a good time to go, just make sure that you allow sufficient time to see everything before closing.
You also have the option to participate in a morning or evening guided tour that enables you to skip the majority of the tourist hordes.
Also Check: Rock And Roll Museum Cleveland Ohio
Tour Guide Salary And Career Path
Tourism relies heavily on the economys health.
Service occupations including Tour Guides are expected to grow at 16.5% through the year 2016, a growth that is considered average when compared to other careers.
The salary and wages for a Tour Guide depends on the location of work, type of employer and whether they work as an independent freelance contractor.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics groups tour guides under service occupations with a national median income of approximately $23,000 per year.
The below information is based on the 2019 BLS national averages.
- Annually
Training To Become A Docent
Read Also: Miami Beach Museums In Miami
Get Training And Licenses If Necessary
TripSchool is a training company, so we obviously believe deeply and passionately in the value of learning guiding skills in a training program. However, dont let any prospective program fool you into thinking that youre required to get some sort of certificate or certification before you can start doing your job. You dont. TripSchool Co-founder Mitch Bach started his career in Paris, and was hired by a company while he was still in his first year of college. All he had was a good personality and love of history, and that began a career that would take him to dozens of countries around the world as a guide and tour director. But learning through experience is the hard way. We started TripSchool to give you all the experience and wisdom weve accrued over decades in one package, giving you a leg up on the competition. Check out our Tour Guide Boot Camp class here.
Do you need a license? Thats another story. The short answer is: maybe. You have to decide where youre guiding, first. And then search for the license requirements for that region. New York City requires you to pass a knowledge test . Cities across Europe regulate tour guiding very seriously and may require years of course-taking before you can legally guide. Other cities like Washington, D.C. require a license but dont make you pass a test. And many cities have no licensing requirements at all.
# Focus On Details Rather Than Trying To See More
This museum tip is related to the previous one. Rather than trying to see as much as you can at the museum, put your focus on details. Art is all about the feelings it evokes in us. And to get the chance to feel the paintings, focus on details.
Stand in front of the painting and see if you can notice the brushstrokes or a texture artist has painted. How does the frame look like? Is it new or old? You can also get very close to the painting and look to the colours, texture and details. And then take a few steps back and look at it from the distance to see how the whole composition changes.
Pick a few paintings and explore them in this way, and Im sure your museum experience is going to be much more interesting than usual.
Recommended Reading: Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum
Start Working And Never Stop Learning
Being a guide is not a get trained and be done kind of job. It requires a constant thirst for acquiring new skills and knowledge. The more you know, the more tours youve developed and led, the more youre valuable to future employers. So always keep reading, take other tours, and get out there and discover your own secrets of where you live! Guests today love being shown hidden gems and places only locals know about. So be endlessly curious about whats new in your city, and even develop relationships with store owners and restaurants, so you might be able to offer your tour guests an insider take on a destination. The more you know, and the more relationships you have with others in this industry, the more youll succeed. Its that simple. And hard!
What Is Included In The Louvre Museum Ticket What Will You See
The Louvre museum ticket includes access to the permanent collections at the museum. By permanent collection, this means exhibitions and displays that are constantly present on site. Occasionally, the museum also hosts non-permanent collections which are exhibits that travel the world stopping by the most notable museums.
Many people simply associate the Louvre with the Mona Lisa and outside of peering at this infamous painting, they are not sure of what else to do while visiting. The louvre is home to over 380,000 exhibitions that are divided into different collections across art and history.
Some of the most notable collections that may be of interest during your visit to the Louvre are:
Recommended Reading: Tickets For Natural History Museum Los Angeles
Frequently Asked Questions About A Museum Guide Salaries
The national average salary for a Museum Guide is $38,438 per year in United States. Filter by location to see a Museum Guide salaries in your area. Salaries estimates are based on 8 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by a Museum Guide employees.
The highest salary for a Museum Guide in United States is $54,676 per year.
The lowest salary for a Museum Guide in United States is $27,023 per year.
How To Become A Tour Guide In A Museum
If you’re looking for a job that combines interpersonal, customer service and research skills, then a role as a tour guide in a museum could be ideal for you. Museum tour guides are knowledgeable and charismatic professionals that can work in a variety of industries. In this article, we explain what a museum tour guide is and what they do, list some steps you can take to become one, explore vital skills for this role and provide the average salary for this profession.
Related:Guide: How To Choose a Career
Don’t Miss: Museum Of International Folk Art
Navigation In A Vr Tour
The last stage is making our tour usable so that users should be able to feel this VR experience. We have to go back to step 2 to see the connections between locations and to place the markers. In this example, weve used arrows placed on the ground to navigate through various rooms, as it is quite intuitive and the ground placement is crucial. While rotating the head, the ground below is only a stable place where you can move around.
The code with information is embedded into the button to directly identify which image should appear next without going to menu. The tour can be created either flat or spherical full-view, so the users can have VR experience regardless of having the headset or not.
See Museum Tour Guides Salaries In Other Areas
Read Also: Boston Science Museum Gift Shop
