the tour commentary - geoturism plaza · 2021. 1. 4. · what is a tour commentary? the tour...

The Tour Commentary‘The Guide’s Speak’

The Tour Commentary : Preparation, Planning and Delivery

What is a Tour Commentary?

The Tour Commentary

A tour commentary is a narrative used by a tour guide to

describe a site and provide information about various

aspects of a country to tourists while on a tour. They are

generally referred to as the “guide’s speak” and include

general information and local stories about attractions or

sites, events and personalities in a country.

What are the contents of a Tour Commentary?

Parts of a Tour Commentary

• The Introduction

• The Briefing

• The Presentation

• The Closing

A tour guide should prepare the tour commentary before

beginning a tour and it is composed of the four main parts:

How does a tour guide prepare a tour commentary?

• Establish the needs and interests of the group.

• Confirm the itinerary.

• Access sources of information about sites to be

visited.

• Research on the facts about the attractions to

be visited.

• Prepare the text of the tour commentary based

on the established facts.

Preparing a Tour Commentary

The procedure for preparing a commentary is as follows:

The following guideline should be ensured :

• Distractions or interruptions including questions

from the audience will leave you floundering.

• Learn the concepts and meanings exhaustively

and deliver them with an inflection that reflects

both enthusiasm and authority.

•This helps you answer any questions and segue

back into your spiel (speech).

Planning the delivery of a Commentary

Know the contents of your tour commentary backwards

and forward but do not memorize in verbatim

Project the right Body Language

• They way you deliver the commentary can be

just as important as what you say, take your

time to work on it.

• Stand straight to convey confidence in your

product as you pitch your tour commentary.

• Maintain confidence, yet an easy going body

language so you appear approachable but not

aggressive.

• Take your cues from the tourists to see if your

body language is mirrored or if you need to

tone it down.


• Whether a single person or a group, pay

attention to their reactions, especially their facial

expressions and body language as you delivery

the commentary.

• Watch for signs of boredom or discomfort to

adjust your commentary accordingly e.g.

yawning, fidgeting and checking the time.

• Recapture attention by interrupting the spiel to

relate to a short personal experience or by

moving about to focus their attention to you.

Build natural relationship with your audience



• If you are extremely confident and talking to

one person, you can grasp his arm or shoulder

while making an important point as if to take

him into your confidence.

• Confirm the interests and expectations of the

visitors at the outset of the tour.

• Introduce yourself by clearly state: your

name, designation, purpose of the tour,

distance to be travelled, locations, events,

expectations and activities.

• Present the spiel in a conversational rather than

noted or memorized way.

• Make the commentary interesting, relevant,

simple and deliver it in logical sequence.

• Be sensitive to the group’s interests and tailor the

commentary to the group.

Delivery of Commentaries On-Transit

• Seek feedback throughout the tour to foster the

visitors’ attention.

• Respond to enquiries accurately and positively,

when an answer is not available, refer to the field

guides and other information sources.

• If an answer is still not available for a query,

apologize and refer the enquiry to an alternative

source of information.

• Focus on what you know, be specific and

express the information in terms of what the

visitors can see.


• Be accommodating and flexible towards visitors

allowing for different points of view and ways of

doing things.

• Allow enough time at each stop for visitors to

fully enjoy and gain information with private

time at the stop.


• Start with greetings and introductions.

• Deliver the spiel (convincing speech) in ways

that makes visitors interested.

• Use good sense of humor to deliver the spiel.

• Remember that spiels help people appreciate and

understand what they see.

• Face the entire group, not a few, speak slowly and

clearly with an audible voice.

• Always maintain eye contact with the visitors.

• Prepare yourself for questions that may be asked.

• Take control of your breathing and emphasize on

important words.

Delivery of Commentaries On-Site

• Use synonyms and examples when making

explanations.

• When mentioning a local name, repeat or spell it.

• Maintain silence if the need arises.

• Listen carefully to questions and other concerns.

• Never argue or debate with the visitors.

• Always end the tour by thanking the visitors and

wishing them a good day, evening or night.

• Issue the visitor questionnaire to obtain their

views, feedback, opinions and recommendations

of the day’s tour.

Delivery of Commentaries On-Site

Fostering Attention & Participation

Change your voice Speed

• A consistent pace of voice can make the

commentary delivery ineffective.

• Vary the speed of your voice depending on the

tourists and purpose of the communication.

• To gain attention and excite the visitors, speak

quickly and enthusiastically.

• Speak slowly to enable visitors to pay attention

to your words.


Punctuate with Pauses

• It is important to break the flow of information

during commentary delivery so that visitors

can understand what they just heard.

• A pause is taken when the guide has conveyed

an important point or wants the visitors to

anticipate.


Articulate Clearly

• It is important that your spiel is clear to the

audience.

• Avoid technical terms unless explained and

often use the simplest word.

• Learn basic foreign terms and phrases even if

you are not a linguist.

• Have expertise in pronunciation and

articulate each word clearly when you speak

to gain more confidence and clarity.


Posture

Shift the Pitch of your Voice

• Frequency of speech is called voice pitch.

• Depending on the aim of the speech, you can

use high and low pitches at times.

• Using extremes can tarnish the success of your

commentary delivery.


• A guide has to cultivate and maintain elegance

in way of standing and walking as it conveys

messages about personality.

Control your Voice Volume

• Volume of voice create a direct impact on the

audience.

• An average volume should be used in general.

• It can be loud or soft depending on the aim of

the commentary.

• When a mix of loudness and softness is used, it

adds special effects to the commentary.


• A gesture can communicate all that the guide

feels, consciously or unconsciously.

• Shaking of hands, head, holding, embracing or

patting on the back all convey varied messages.

Use of Gestures

• Facial expressions are most natural and

unconscious.

• They continually change during interactions and

are observed constantly by the audience.

• Smiling is considered to be pleasant and helpful.

Facial Expressions


Paraphrasing• Paraphrasing is simply explaining statements or

remarks in shortened or renowned versions of

facts so as to clarify the meaning visitors need.


“When thou art at Rome, do as they do at Rome.”-Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer

“I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.”-Augustus, Roman emperor

Paraphrase Case Study:

• People seek enjoyment in travel, so present the

facts in a witty and humorous fashion.

• However, do not be a stand-up comedian,

always modulate your voice for variation and

emphasis.

Keep the Commentary Light

Keeping Visitors Enthusiastic

• Each country or county has its problems, do not

dwell on them, constantly highlight

improvements and progress being made.

Keep the Narrations Positive

• Tailor the information to each particular group.

• If the group is composed of farmers or

accountants, point out sites they might find

most interesting.

• Schedule and allow many photo opportunities.

Know and Involve your Audience


Be Accurate and Specific

Personalize the Information


• Present the information in a scholarly way that

is accurate and specific.

• Quiz the visitors on the spiel to add some

entertainment and interest.

• Groups are curious about the guide’s personal

and professional life.

• Turn their curiosity to an advantage and weave

some personal information into the commentary.

• Be aware that your life does not become the tour.

• Have a mastery of the subject, visitors will

respect a guide who knows his subject well.

• Adopt a friendly attitude and take responsibility

for creating and maintaining harmony.

• Let visitors know that their enjoyment is your

primary concern.

• Respect others and be a careful and concerned

listener.

• Establish and environment where visitors feel

free to contribute, is more interesting and

advantageous to all, in this way visitors are

more likely to approach a guide with minor

issues before they become major problems.

Developing Rapport, Cohesiveness & Order

“we’ll be leaving in about ten minutes” guarantees a late

departure. A clearer approach is to say “we’ll be departing

at eleven sharp, according to my watch it is ten forty.”


• Give clear instructions, a guide who says:

• Follow through on promises, it is best to be

conservative with promises and do not mention

places and events visitors may not see.

• Avoid playing favorites and treat everyone the

same.


• Do not give ultimatums that cannot be

enforced, e.g.

Telling visitors that if they are late,

they will be left behind, will they?

• Although leaving behind a perennially late

person may be extremely popular with other

tour members, it should never be done without

considerable warning and care.

Keeping the Commentary Updated

Keeping the spiel updated is fundamental to

enjoying the tour guiding job and ensuring the

spiel remains top-notch for repeat visitors. A spiel

can be kept lively using the following ways:

• Current issues can be of a subject matter or at a

site.

• Keeping updated on current issues gives some

measure of energy to the tour guide and

subsequently to the narration.

Keeping updated on current issues


Striving for continuous Improvement

• Review the daily performance.

• Take an informal poll of the visitors and make

amendments with each tour.

Look at the attraction through the visitor’s eyes

• Remember most visitors may be seeing the

attraction or site for the first time.

• Imagine what can be improved, what may be of

interest and anticipate questions so that the

answers may be ready.


As a performer, draw on the group’s energy

• The guide may feel renewed during the many

hours of the tour by looking at visitor’s reaction,

feelings their enthusiasm, asking open questions

to ensure active participation and eliminate

boredom.

the tour commentary - geoturism plaza · 2021. 1. 4. · what is a tour commentary? the tour...

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