What makes for a good tour?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I am a tour guide at my school and have been doing tours for a few months now and have gotten all the basics down. Now I'm just curious as to how I can improve and be the most useful tour guide I can be. Since parents, in my experience, participate more in tours and, from reading this forum, can be quite vocal about whether they had good/bad tour guides, I'm curious as to what in your experience makes a good tour guide vs a bad tour guide (other than knowledge of the school)</p>

<p>Any advice is appreciated.</p>

<p>Dima</p>

2

<p>Good tour guide: informed about the departments in the university, sounds educated, knows something about the various departments and majors.</p>

<p>Bad tour guide: talks more about parties and fun than education and studying, uses poor grammar or slang.</p>

3

<p>be frank and honest when answering questions regarding alcohol and drug use, campus security, etc.</p>

<p>It's important to know about facilities you personally don't necessarily use, but which may be extremely important for your tour participants. For example, if you're not an athlete, find out what an athlete would value about your training rooms, practice fields, etc. The same goes for music, theatre, science labs, etc. </p>

<p>Don't ever say "I think..." State the facts in a confident manner.</p>

4

<p>I second the suggestion that you be knowlegeable about areas that you are personally not invoved with.</p>

<p>Another suggestion: make it personal; i.e., talk about the activities that you're involved with, the challenges that you faced as a freshman, what took you by surprise, what has been the most challenging issue for you. Parents (and prospective students) get plenty of hype from all the slick college brochures - as a tour guide, you can provide a vital "flesh and blood" link to reality. Talk about what attracted you to the school, what your hopes and dreams are - internships, research opportunities, studying abroad. Talk about what professors or classes have made an impact on you. Be real.</p>

<p>As you know, a tour guide can make or break the impressions that propective families have of a school.</p>

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<p>Avoid using "like", as in, "like, this is where the, like, older students like, hang-out when they, like, are not, like, studying.." :)</p>

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<p>Don't put down other schools (tour guides usually know next to nothing about them anyway.) Talk about what it means TO YOU to be going there. Be prepared for alcohol/drug questions, how the school deals with them, and how you feel about them (that is, the school's approach.) Be prepared to refer questions about departments in which you have no experience to someone else. Be prepared to tell folks the three things you like least about your school (along with the 10 best.)</p>

<p>Be clear that most of the folks taking your tour are not going to end up at your school, so help them go away with fond memories so they'll recommend it to friends.</p>

7

<p>You've gotten some excellent suggestions already. I am no expert. We've been on maybe ten tours by now. The best tour guides we've had have been enthusiastic about their schools and were able to convey that to visitors, what makes their school special, in a nutshell. One example: My daughter was very intimidated by Cornell's reputation. Even though she liked the campus, she didn't see herself there. Then we took the tour. Our guide was great. At one point, one of his friends greeted him (mid-tour) with a great big bear hug! This is what I liked:</p>

<p>He spoke with great enthusiasm and knowledge about all aspects of Cornell life.</p>

<p>He personalized everything, talking about his perceptions, activities, classes, etc.</p>

<p>He geared his remarks directly to his audience: that is, parents and kids, targeting each group. </p>

<p>For the parents, he mentioned how living off-campus is great, with lots of fellow students around. He told us we didn't need to fear our kids leaving the dorms. That struck me as strategic, because many people have heard that Cornell has a housing crunch.</p>

<p>For the kids, he spoke about the social life and the many Cornell traditions: the bell tower, a pumpkin on the roof, etc.</p>

<p>He told us how great the P.E. choices are, learning to sail, scuba-diving in Belize, etc. (Did he make that one up?)</p>

<p>He said that Cornell has a unique way of doing things, the Cornell spin. He gave several examples, including the P.E. choices, above.</p>

<p>At the end of the tour, my daughter said, "Wow! How do I get in?"</p>

<p>By the way, it's great that you're seeking to improve your tours. A poor tour guide (not that that's you!) is a bad representative for the school, even though people should realize that a tour guide is merely an individual and can have an off day, etc.</p>

8

<p>My biggest pet peeve was a tour guide that had to lead a group and we couldn't hear a word that was being said. It's challenging to hear (especially outside) but at the very least, make sure you inter-mix within the group so you're able to answer everyone's questions.</p>

9

<p>Learn to talk and walk backwards at the same time without tripping.</p>

<p>Be both sincere and enthusiastic.</p>

<p>Try not to live up to or confirm by your own speech and behavior whatever negative stereotypes your school has.</p>

<p>Make a pit stop just before you start the tour. We had one guide who was forced to bail out half way through because he suddenly had to pee so bad.</p>

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<p>Ditto smcmom. Make sure your group can HEAR you. Either walk backwards while talking, or walk to a destination point and turn to address the group. If you choose the latter, please wait until all of your group is in place, rather that starting to speak while folks are still arriving. Finally, if somebody asks you a question, please repeat it so the whole group can benefit. (I really hated it when a couple of parents try to monopolize the tour guide by holding a private converstation that no one else can hear.)</p>

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<p>Be truthful and open and don't go out of your way to be a salesperson for the school. Don't simply point out buildings and say "this is the so and so building". Talk about the actual life at the college, experiences in class, what the Profs are like, what the dorm experience is like, etc.
Think back to when you were touring and what you woould have liked to hear. think back to when you first attended the school and discovered things you wished you would have known before - especially things that can't be easily obtained from the school's web site. Speak up and make sure everyone in the group can hear the important points. If someone asks you a question that other can't hear, repeat it and the answer for the crowd to hear. Don't let one or two people 'hog' your attention. Have fun with them and try to have a good time during the tour.</p>

<p>And...don't trip while walking backwards!</p>

12

<p>don't make ANY disparaging remarks about any of the athletic teams....you never know if a potential recruit is in the group! my son actually had to endure a guide that really made fun of the football team....and since he was carrying a football folder from the coach, everyone sort of looked at him, the guide was embarrassed, and it was just a bit awkward for everyone!</p>

13

<p>wbow--I guess the guide could have saved himself by saying that he was glad to see that the fooball team was finally doing something about it by aggressively recruiting top notch athletes!</p>

<p>Sometimes talking about your own experiences a lot can be counterproductive. I remember my H talking about one tour headed by an Af-Am young man who waxed eloquent about the Af-Am things going on the campus. You guessed it--no Af-Am kids in the group.</p>

14

<p>Be audible. On several tours, it was a large group, and only those in the front could hear the tour guide's comments.</p>

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<p>Dima, let your own personality shine through. The tours that my son liked best (and rightly or wrongly this reflected on the college) were those led by students who told us a lot about themselves -- why they chose that college, their favorite classes, where they lived, what they liked to do on weekends. It really helped my son project himself into the environment.</p>

<p>Also, and this may not be entirely under your control, some colleges skimped on the residence hall visits. At one ivy, in fact, we had to look in the window, one at a time. Everyone, parents and prospies alike, wants to see where they'll be sleeping, showering and hanging out with friends, so allow ample time to get a feel for a dorm room.</p>

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<p>If you are leading a group, don't let just one family monopolize you--</p>

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<p>Agree with all advice here. Have personal anecdotes ready about:</p>

<p>why you really liked a particular prof, a particular course, opportunities in your major, internship opportunities--Have ready a story about a friend in math-science and/or business if you are humanities or vice versa.</p>

<p>talk about what helped you adjust as a freshman-- opportunities to get help, counseling, advice from upper classmen, tutoring in a weak area, whatever.</p>

<p>Talk about what you enjoy in your free time but say "I know other kids who enjoy ...X...Y..Z.. a range of varied (but specific) social opportunities.."</p>

<p>Tell them what is unique about your school... You can say "when I talk to my friends back home about the schools they went to, they are very impressed to hear that THIS SCHOOL offers...has... gives you a chance to....." But don't mention any other school specifically in a negative light or more positive light. </p>

<p>You became a guide because you are happy at the school-- convey the reasons you are happy with your choice. </p>

<p>Don't be afraid to say "I don't know about that but I can find out for you.." give tour participants a personal card with your e-mail address--hand the card to the kid, not the parents.</p>

<p>Parents may ask about campus safety or security issues--be honest but reassuring-- tell them what the school does to enhance safety.</p>

18

<p>Being a college tour guide must be very difficult. The tours I took disproved the adage that there is no such thing as a stupid question. And those are the questions from the parents. Usually the kids are inhibited because their parents are there and they often appear bored. I have been on tours with really poor tour guides and also other tours with excellent guides. For the really poor tours, I have been amazed at how much effort schools will make on recruitment to blow it with a bad tour. No matter how hard we try, it is difficult to ignore first impressions. I am curious as to the selection process and training provided by your school.</p>

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<p>Keep checking your audience. Are they with you? smiling, asking questions, etc. If they look bored or distracted, do something. Ask them questions - majors, activities they might be interested in pusuing at the college. The tours make a huge difference. Harvard was my daughter's #1 choice but the tour was awful and now it's way down the list. She actually begged me to skip out on the tour and we ended up at Starbucks. At another college, the reverse happened(much to her surprise). There the tour guide was amazing. Funny, personal and kept all the students and parents involved and engaged. The best advice I can give you is to hang around when the other tours come in and eavesdrop on the students and parents. If they rave about one of your fellow guide's tours, go on it yourself and see what he/she is doing or saying that you are not.</p>

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<p>Our tour guide at Dartmouth said that dorms weren't part of the tour, but she'd be happy to take any one who wanted to to see her room after the tour. My daughter thought that was SO nice, and we were the only ones who took the tour guide up on her offer. So, we got to chat a lot more with her and get a great tour of her dorm and several rooms. My D ended up applying ED there.</p>