WHY YOU NEED
BETTERTOURS
@audioconexus Condensed Version
PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY
TOUREMPTY SEATS
RIGHT NOW, SOMEONE OUT THERE
HOPEFULLY IT’S NOT YOURS
IS ON A REALLY BORING TOUR
YOUR TOUR SHOULD BE
FUNENTERTAININGEDUCATIONALINSPIRINGDON’T BORE PEOPLE
FLOORPEOPLE
Guided tours that preoccupy themselves with describing what’s on the right, what’s on the left — are simply announcing a route map.
What chance is there that every guide you hire is like Anthony Quinn? Or that your average tours are going to share average stories?Why are travelers going to choose you?
The worst
sin is to be
boring
So what makes a tour great?
An effective guided tour has more than a beginning, a middle and an end;
it has a point.
Like a good story well spun, a great tour narrative forges an imaginative connection between teller and told.
A great tour, with a great story as its core and context, is infused with its own particular magic and energized by its own unique electricity.
Deciding the story to tell is only half the story
A great tour, with a great story as its core and context, is infused with its own particular magic and energized by its own unique electricity.
Deciding the story to tell is only half the story
Bringing that story to life is the other half of the battle
a great tour narrative uses every tool of storytelling at its imaginative disposal
historical persona, single and multiple narrators,
music, sound effects, dramatic re-enactment
not only to engage the attention and sustain the interest of its audience
but to immerse them within an enhanced experience whose whole is demonstrably
greater than the sum of its part
A great tour is story-driven, it
entertains; that’s what makes it truly
memorable.
If you’re boring or your tours suck
PEOPLE WILL TALK
If you’re boring or your tours suck
PEOPLE WILL TALK
and
YOU CAN’TIGNORESOCIAL MEDIA
Our tour guide had a
thick accent and
broken English and
was difficult to
understand.
We were very unhappy with the tour and service
provided.
The guide was very cynical and said
demeaning things about guests.
*Reviews by real people found on the Web. Names withheld.
Our tour guide had a
thick accent and
broken English and
was difficult to
understand.
We were very unhappy with the tour and service
provided.
The guide was very cynical and said
demeaning things about guests.
The tour guide got into bad mood after and the rest of our tour was touch and go
Being a good tour guide is something I take seriously. I had an unprofessional driver, and a boring tour.
Boring tour
guide
The guides at the bus stops and the tour
guide on board the bus were not very helpful or knowledgeable.
The guides
varied from
good to bad and
often gave
conflicting
information
I'm a fair
person, but
this tour was
terrible.
boring sightseeing
tour
boring sightseeing tour full of
facts
The most boring tour ever!
“How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?” – Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog
Seth Godin knows how to make a successful business tick
So we decided to put together
10 Telltale Signs You Need
Better Tours
1 Your tour is "good enough"
Your tour sounds like a history lecture
You don't follow a script
Either you deliver Wow or you're wasting time and money.
A traveler said it best: "a guide needs to be a good storyteller. A pure recitation of facts is mind-numbingly boring."
Lack of consistency is why businesses fail or fail to grow.
2
3
You're not getting much feedback or any comments
You asked staff members to write your stories
You're talking about things people don't care about
If people aren't talking about your tours it's because they didn't have anything to talk about.
If you're talking about things people don't care about - don't expect them to care about your tour.
We’ve seen a lot of bad tours. Using professional writers means you’ll go from good to great.
4
5
6
You're using the commentary from 10 years ago
Your marketing builds your business (and will save you)
Anyone can provide a great tour
Your commentary is outdated. It more than likely feels stale and old - not only for you - but for your passengers.
Focus on creating an exceptional customer experience first. Then worry about the marketing.
Great guides have the knack. The mojo. The magic. Invest in storytellers.
7
8
9
Focus on attracting audience(s) that share your worldview. And then write commentary that will engage and entertain your
audience. The bottom line is your stories matter. And they matter to your audience.
You don't know your audience10
PROVIDING ENGAGING, ENTERTAINING TOURS
IS NOT A MYSTICAL ART
Storytelling is the heart and soul of agreat tour narrative
MAKE A POINTBE CONSISTENTTELL STORIES
INSPIRE PEOPLE
Thanks!@audioconexus
PHOTOS
Flickr/Sightseeing/Thomas van de WeerdFlickr/Pout/Dan FoyFlickr/Packard tourist sightseeing car/CommonsFlickr/New York Bus/CommonsFlickr/flickr contacts/Hobvias SudoneighmFlickr/Our Guide 3/Son of GrouchoWikimedia/CarrisTur – Tourists/Pedro SimõesQuote from The Experience Economy - Pine and GilmoreFlickr/DSC_0252/Joshua GandersonFlickr/Larry Lessig makes a point/Robert ScobleFlickr/Catatonic Delirium/joaquinuyFlickr/El Grito Del Fantasma/Javier PrazakFlickr/40+37 Magic 8 Ball/BarkFlickr/View on Black/John Steven FernandezFlickr/Seth.Godin.MBA/Aaron TangFlickr/Rain Man’s Rainbow/Steve JurvetsonFlickr/Conjuration Original/Dhilung Kirat
WEBSITES
FLICKR.COMWIKIMEDIA.COMISTOCKPHOTO.COMYOUTUBE.COM
THANKSA Special Thanks to Blair Shakell for writing The Importance of Storytelling. He’s not only one of our writers, he’s an amazing guy. And to @JESSEDEE for evangelizing about what it takes to make a great presentation.
CREDITS
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