Advice to tour guides?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I'm a freshman if you guys didn't already know, and I'm in the process of trying to get a job as an admissions tour guide. The way it works at my school is that you can't be an official, paid tour guide until second semester, so first semester, you'll just be volunteering, giving tours on special events like Open Houses where they don't have enough tour guides for the amount of people, tours during school breaks if you're around, tours to special groups like middle schoolers that vist the campus, etc. So that's what I'm doing and I'm hoping it will make a difference when I interview next February.</p>

<p>Here's my dilemma. I've given several tours already, with varying levels of success. I don't always know the answers to all of the questions (not the general ones, but the super specific ones like "How many players make Varsity squash and how many are cut each year?") and I don't expect I'll ever always be able to answer every question. However, I always feel like I connect a lot more with the student than the parent in the tours, so I'm asking you guys with your infinite experience-</p>

<p>What makes a tour memorable?
What can a tour guide do to make a tour more interesting/exciting/etc?
How can I manage to connect to the parents without alienating the students?
What would immediately "turn you off" in a tour?</p>

<p>Advice?</p>

2

<p>It is unrealistic for anyone to expect a tour guide to answer such super specific questions. Just make sure you have a directory handy so you can look up a name & give that info to the questioner to research it on his own. </p>

<p>Turn offs: Gum chewing, blase attitude, saying "like" frequently. </p>

<p>A memorable tour will depend on the guide's enthusiasm. It shouldn't be cheesey pep rally in nature. An ability to talk about the academic strengths as well as the social, service, and spiritual (if it's a religiously affiliated school) strengths will leave the audience feeling that you did your job well. Pick one of two of your favorite spots or traditions on campus & speak from the heart about why they are important to you. I think it is best to use humor when trying to bridge the gap between parent & prosepctive student's concerns. Think back to what it was like when you were a h.s. student looking for schools. Use that as a starting point, and say, "When I was a H.S. senior I was worried about......" Or "I remember my parents being concerned about...." These are good ways to connect.</p>

3

<p>Making sure that EVERYONE can hear you and that you don't just run through a list of topics. It's frustrating to be at the end of the pack trying to listen while the tourguide is walking and talking with their head facing out to the walkway in front. One thing you can do is stop here and there and ask if everyone heard the question or answer, repeat any questions asked, etc. I echo what StickerShock said above and would just add that a realistic presentation of the campus is important for both students and parents. Parents want to know if their kids will be safe there, happy there, as well as academically challenged, financially sound - you have the inside scoop on the student lifestyle and culture. You also become somewhat the "typical" student of the school, even if that isn't accurate. Friendliess, enthusiasm for the school, and a bit of personal sharing will help people relax and connect with you. You will meet all types of parents and students so it's hard to say what will make everyone happy - some parents will want to talk assess financial bang for the buck while others will want to talk about social activities, safety, etc. Try to include everyone if you have one visitor that is monopolizing you - repeat their questions and offer them an opportunity to talk with the admissions office if they are dominating the tour. Another suggestion is to be sure to speak to the students and ask them a few ice-breaker questions. I noticed my son was reluctant to ask questions in the tour group - kids going through the college search are often shy, frightened and overwhelmed by the process.</p>

4

<p>Connecting with parents- Learn to walk backwards very quickly! I am just joking, but some tour guides are pretty good at it. I think that being yourself, speaking honestly about your experiences will help you to gain the attention of many parents.</p>

5

<p>I'm not a parent, but make sure you are familiar with the admissions session before the tour and what material that covers. I didn't like it when the tour just repeated the exact same subjects, especially since almost everyone goes to both the session and the tour.</p>

<p>Also taking people around to a lot of different places is better than just standing around outside and talking - people like to see dorms, dining halls, classrooms, etc. if possible. You can talk once you're in the more interesting places rather than just outside in the open space.</p>

6

<p>If you're smart enough to use this forum to ask how to become a better tour guide, you'll do fine!</p>

<p>My personal pet peeve is when tour guides go to a dorm and "hope" someone is around to open a room for us. Most of the time no one is, so we just walk down the hall and have to guess what the rooms look like. There should always be a couple of typical rooms available for viewing. This may be a problem the admissions office has to solve, one school we looked at said students can volunteer their rooms for tours and get paid for it; as a result they have to be ready and allow tours in. Otherwise, make sure your own room is viewable or that you have friends who will let you use their room. Also, show parents where the bathrooms are in the dorms; we moms love to check out the bathrooms to see if they're clean, offer privacy, etc.</p>

<p>Generally, be enthusiastic without being a parody. Tell us why you chose that school and why you're happy there. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>A couple of things I've noticed at our visits:</p>

<p>At Fordham, after the tour groups had finished, everyone gathered for lunch in one room. It was a big turnoff that the tour guides gathered in one clump and did not go around to meet the families that had come to the open house.</p>

<p>As opposed to Chicago, where prior to the tour, a good number of students were there for one reason, to sit informally with students and parents, talk one on one and answer any questions. Each of the students circulated throughout the room - we met and spoke with three students then.</p>

<p>cut - dukeclass just wrote exactly what I was thinking.. It is painful to have to hear the same spiel twice.</p>

<p>On a personal note, I thought it was terrific that our Tufts guide offered his e-mail address. I've heard of folks who have asked tour guides for the e-mail only to be turned down. </p>

<p>Good luck with your tours!</p>

8

<p>All our tour guides have given out email addresses. Some were hard to hear. Stopping frequently works better IMO than talking while walking backwards. We liked seeing rooms - 1 out of 3 so far - the tourguide showed us her own room. Be honest about food, drinking, lecture classes and TAs. We know your school isn't perfect.Tell some funny stories too. The Stanford tour gave us way too much history of the school - I don't care about 100 years ago - I want to know what the school is like today.</p>

9

<p>Being an eager guide is a key to success, and it sounds as though that is something in your favor. Recalling my experience as a parent through two children's worth of college tours, here are some thoughts.</p>

<p>Very specific questions are not appropriate in a general tour, not knowing the answer is not a negative for you. A good way to deal with such questions is to smile and say " that's a good question but I'm not familiar enough with the subject to anwer it. The best person to ask might be...[the squash coach, the chair of the theater department, special services, tech support, whatever...]</p>

<p>"What makes a tour memorable?" An unexpected flash of connection that jsut happens; an overheard interchange between the guide and another student that shows a certain personality that just works for you. an articulate guide who really gives you a sense of his/her personality and makes the schoool come to life as well asproviding a basic overview of the physical plant and academic and social life.</p>

<p>"What can a tour guide do to make a tour more interesting/exciting/etc?"
It does not need to be exciting, jsut pleasant and interesting and not tension provoking. Be sure everyone can hear you; I'm sure you already walk backward, but it really is an important skill. if you have an area of special intert, you can give it an extra sentence or two, but try to cover everything so taht all members of the tour group have something to catch on to.</p>

<p>"How can I manage to connect to the parents without alienating the students?" If you are smiling, comfortable, and knowledgeable, you probably will connect with both generations. Tour guides are sort of aspirational figures--that is, they are what a high school visitor might hope to be in a year or two, so you don't need to be quite at their level. Parents want to see you as a role model for their kids. There's no need for anything artificial--flipflops and jeans are fine if that's what people wear at your school; it's fine to admit that people go to parties or that there is a lot of work, or both; truth is good, complaining isn't.</p>

<p>"What would immediately "turn you off" in a tour?" A guide who seems bored by the school or the job of being a guide. A guide who overemphasizes the rigor of admission in an effort to make people see how great he/she is. A guide who says "like" too much or is inarticulate or below the expected level of a school in other ways or is really sloppy in dress or personal style. Chewing gum is also negative; smoking obviously is too, much more so (probabyl not allowed in most places anyway?)Criticizing other schools whether they are "better" or "worse" also is a negative to me (at Colby, don't say you are better than Bates; at W & L don't say you are better than Davidson; at Cornell, don't suggest that you look down on Colgate). A guide who is only interested in and competent to discuss his/her academic areas of interest and is dismissive of others--such as an english major who shrugs off the science buidigns as if they were only for really wierd kids, or a science person who dismisses the history department as boring.</p>

10

<p>Thanks everyone, for your advice! It's really helpful! I do have some questions though -</p>

<p>I tend to bump into things, walk through puddles, etc when I'm giving a tour, just because I'm such a clumsy person in general, and I'm so focused on trying to make the tour experience a good one. It's not excessive (well, the puddle thing is - I can't see behind me!) but would it make people think I'm incompetent?</p>

<p>And you guys should know that you guys walk SO fast on a tour - I think people forget that we have an hour and just want to rush through. But I'm walking backwards - it's not as if I can run! So usually, I just ask nicely if we can slow down the tour a little so we can have a little more time to see everything - is that okay?</p>

<p>I don't even know if my school has information sessions - goodness, what a good idea to check out! I'll definitely give those a look.</p>

<p>I do offer my email as often as I can, and always let people know if they have any questions, I'm available.</p>

<p>We go around and ask students names, etc., before the tour, and I'm wondering if perhaps I should ask an ice breaker question too - something like "What's your favorite candy?"</p>

<p>In regards to criticizing other schools, here's my dilemma. Oftentimes, parents asked why I chose my school. I want to be honest with them, so I explain that I was deciding between two schools, and I had a question during the decision process. One school (the other one) refused to answer because I hadn't sent in my check. So I began to think about whether I wanted to be at that school, while everyone I ever spoke to at my school was warm and friendly and generally wonderful. I got a better vibe when I visited too. Is it okay to say this?</p>

<p>Also, tour guides often ask what sets us apart from our neighboring college - I generally say I believe my school has superior programs in X and we do Y differently, and I think that's better because... etc. Does this seem like I'm tearing the other school down?</p>

<p>Thanks everyone, for all your help!</p>

11

<p>Don't trash rival schools. Don't even mention them unless specifically asked.
Be upbeat and positive without going overboard and coming off as phony.
Tell them best thing and the worst thing about being student at your school.
Hit the bathrooms just before your tour so you won't have to make an embarrassing pit stop along the way.</p>

<br>


<br>

<p>Just say that you found more of what you were looking for here at good ol' xyz U. It had programs that better fit your needs and goals. It's easy to build your own school up without tearing other schools down.</p>

12

<p>For an ice breaker question asking where people are from is pretty good. You can mention if you know of someone at your school from their hometown or area of the country. It will also give people a sense of the geographic diversity of the college.</p>

13

<p>For my son and daughter the best tours were given by tour guides in their prospective major or if they shared similar interests. As someone else said, you will be seen as the typical student at your college. I remember a tour at York college where the tour guide talked quite a bit about some activities that my son had no interest in and it turned him off the college. As an ice breaker you could ask the students what their potential majors might be or what kind of ec's they think they would like to do at college. During the tour you could probably touch on either the major or the ec's so they could picture themselves as students at your college. That would also make it more interesting for you.</p>

14

<p>A person in a service job wanting to improve service. I like!</p>

<p>My best advice, get to know something about your tour group before you start..</p>

<p>For the parents...
- Where did they go to college? (so you can identify with their experience)
- What are you most interested in about the school? (So you don't spend your time on uninportant things)</p>

<p>For the students (and the parents)...
- How many campus tours have you been on?
- What do you find the best part of a tour?</p>

<p>These things will give you and idea of what to spend your time on and will help you make a connection with your groups that may vary quite a bit.</p>

15

<p>A lot of what previous posters said is good advice. What makes a tour guide memorable to me is humor -- someone who cracks a subtle joke here or there really picks up my attention. If you feel like you're alienating parents, making a joke that is geared toward them will help. Students/parents won't think you're incompetent for walking in puddles or bumping into people, but it might be a good idea to use the humor card again here by saying before the tour starts: "you'll have to let me know if I'm about to knock someone over, trip, etc."</p>

<p>Don't worry too much about not knowing the right answer to specific questions, I think the best response is one that directs the person to the correct person who would know, ie student organization x can be contacted at department y. </p>

<p>If the walking tour is long, make occasional stops so you can regather your group and make sure everyone can hear you. Asking students ahead of time where they're from AND what they are thinking about majoring in is a good idea, because you can refer back to that info later if you end up stopping at a building which might be of interest to someone. Asking unrelated questions, like their favorite candy, might be a little awkward/inappropriate, esp. for shy prospective students.</p>

16

<ol>
<li><p>While walking bacwards knowing the potholes in the street and the cracks on the sidewalk -- GWU guides are particularly adept at this. </p></li>
<li><p>Hanging out after the tour is over is answer questions -- JMU guides did just that.</p></li>
<li><p>Spacing the tour so it doesn't bump into another tour -- self explanatory.</p></li>
</ol>

17

<p>Get some info from friends of yours with different majors or ec activities.
So if you are in the sciences and they ask about art history or literature, you can say,"Well, a friend of mine really loved Romantic Poetry with prof. X...." Or my roommate is on the crew team and he said....." Also talk about how you've enjoyed getting to know people different from yourself--in political views or international students or othe geographical origins--So those tour members who find it hard to identify with you personally will know that there also people like him or her on campus.</p>

18

<p>I have a been on a of couple tours and the guides tend to oversell the entertainment package. Smart kids know they're on campus to study with some respite on the weekends. Trumpeting comedians or musicians that visit, I think, is kind of silly. Choices are not made, or at least they should not be made, based on who a college gets for a stand-up routine on Saturday night. Let's face it so many of these places are generic. All these schools feature the oldest, most noble looking building on campus, fronted by a manicured lawn, on a pristine day, with a multicultural bunch of kids either playing Frisbee or involved in light hearted discussion. The few tours I've been on run along the same generic lines ie., encouraging would be attendees to prepare themselves to for a light hearted adventure, (albeit with some studying) featuring gourmet food 24/7 punctuated by weekend entertainment that rivals Vegas.
I realize that's a parent's prospective and I would probably fail miserably marketing to teens. What impresses me would probably bore them to tears, but, it is a window into the type of school I would like to have my S or D attend. For instance I hear at Rhodes you can go into the dorm laundry and find 30 different boxes of detergent all left there without fear of them being stolen from the owner due to the honor code imposed by the institution and embraced by those attending. At WPI the ready availability of tutors rescued a friend of mine who had not taken calculus in his senior year of HS. At WNEC imposed study groups lead to higher success rate and help freshman to feel they are not alone with the tough, often unforgiving, engineering curriculum. </p>

<p>Honor Code
Availability of Tutors
Intense Group Study</p>

<p>Boring stuff I know, but, if you're selling the parent, and as a tour guide you certainly should be, these are things that should not be glossed over or left out.</p>

19

<p>For me it was all in the enthusiasm and delivery, assuming tour guides have equal knowledge of their schools.</p>

<p>A bland guide made for an excruciating walk. Also, be aware of the catch phrase you use to fill the silence with while you think. On one tour my D make a mental tally of "to be honest", another one it was "actually" and another tour's was that old chestnut "uuuummmm."</p>

20

<p>Both my kids were very impressed by Caltech. I'll admit the number one thing that impressed them were stories about pranks. But they were also impressed by the honor code (exams whereever you like) and the assurances of two current students that they had never had a single multiple choice test at Caltech.</p>