How to conduct a city tour. How to make a good excursion. What should tourists be warned about?

The mos.ru portal decided to figure out where the routes come from and what makes people go on excursions around the city. How to see among skyscrapers and cars ancient city? Where is the utopian house located? Who comes up with city tours and who goes on them? How to plan a route correctly and make a person listen carefully? The leading guide of the City Tour Bureau of the Museum of Moscow, Larisa Skrypnik, spoke to mos.ru about the pros and cons of being a guide, about the mysteries of Moscow and the best excursionists.

— It seems that everything about Moscow has already been told, all the city labyrinths and nooks and crannies have been traversed, and suddenly new route, a new excursion - how is this possible?

— The Moscow Museum, where I work, celebrates its 120th anniversary this year. And all these years, the museum staff has been studying the city, its history, monitoring all the changes that are taking place in the metropolis. Our collection contains thousands of documents, books, photographs that are still being researched. This alone already gives many reasons for a new look at even the most trivial excursions.

There is, of course, a mandatory block of excursions. Typically this is sightseeing tour in Moscow, in Red Square, in historical center, which are intended specifically for the first acquaintance with the city - for those who want to learn about the city in which they live. There are quite a few of them - as experience shows, Muscovites often don’t know the city well. It seems to a person: I’m here, I’ll have time to do everything - and he passes by interesting places without paying attention to them. But when interest is shown, a person, as a rule, becomes our regular client. That is, someone who came once begins to come constantly. It is very joyful to see how the popularity of walking and bus excursions is increasing year after year: more and more citizens want to learn as much as possible about the capital.

But there is another block of routes - those that we come up with ourselves. These are always unusual walks where we show the city from a new side. They can be thematic, dedicated to certain dates, events. So, we are constantly developing new routes through unexplored Moscow. We really want to show our favorite city from different sides; I want the participants of the walks to fall in love with Moscow just like us. And such excursions are usually in great demand.

— Can you tell us more about such routes?

- Was interesting story during the celebration of the anniversary of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. We were approached with a request to come up with a walking tour of Gogol’s places. Moreover, they asked to show not only the monuments to the writer, which are located at a distance of 400 meters from each other, not only the temple of Simeon the Stylite, of which Gogol was a parishioner, but something else unusual. This is a challenge in a sense, I really love such things. It was necessary to do a walking tour and tell a lot, a lot about Gogol. As a result, with great interest for myself, I discovered more than 20 places associated with Nikolai Vasilyevich on Arbat. Not in Moscow as a whole, but only on Arbat. Exclusive excursions are born, for example, from such an offer - to help someone with a topic.

Or, for example, an excursion dedicated to 1612 in Moscow. She was not particularly in demand; no one ever asked to take her to these places. But when the request finally appeared, it turned out that it was really very interesting excursion. Of course, excursions are also born because you yourself really like something. I love architecture, and of course I came up with a walking tour of Art Nouveau. Routes may appear after you have read an interesting book. Now there are a lot of memoirs coming out, all sorts of works by pre-revolutionary Moscow scholars, which we did not know before. You read - and suddenly you see the area completely different, not the way you imagined it, and you get the idea to take a tour of this place and show Moscow from some, perhaps unexpected side.

- How does this happen? How is the excursion prepared?

— First, the search for material begins: reading specialized literature, diaries, going to libraries and, of course, studying the very area you are going to talk about. Sometimes, when you walk the streets, enter alleys, courtyards, you discover absolutely incredible treasures that people have never seen. For example, Nikitsky Boulevard is such a front street. But once, when I was preparing a tour there, I saw a metal gate with a door, behind which it was written that there was a shoe repair shop or some kind of hardware there. In general, the door is completely unpresentable-looking. But when I entered this gateway, I realized that this was a whole city with labyrinths. Who would have thought that this could happen? People are always very interested in this. It’s as if you are immersed in the past, and you can imagine how you would feel if you lived in this house and your windows looked out onto this courtyard….

— You said that you have developed a tour of Art Nouveau, but this is not exactly Moscow style, what are you showing?

— Since this is a walking tour, it takes place between Ostozhenka, Prechistenka and in the side streets. This is both Isakov Kekushevsky’s apartment building and the architect Kekushev’s own house. This is the apartment house of the peasant Loskov. We had such wonderful peasants who could invite the best architects and build houses in the northern modern style. There are really not enough of them in Moscow; this style is mainly widespread in St. Petersburg.

— It seems to me that the most difficult thing in your work is to make people listen; not all guides and not always succeed in this.

— You just need to know and understand: people cannot endlessly listen to a set of some facts, even if they are quite interesting, they still need some kind of release. But it’s important not to just giggle about something, but to have it tied to the topic. And by the way, on excursions sometimes the participants themselves help to find such relaxing moments. I once had a wonderful girl about seven years old on a tour of Arbat and Arbat lanes. On Arbat, every building has a story, and you want to tell about everything. I started talking about the house with knights opposite Tetra Vakhtangov and said that, unfortunately, not all the knights had survived, and this girl told me: “But I can tell where this knight went.” I ask: where? She says: “The fact is that he fell in love with this princess,” and there is a “Princess Turandot” fountain near the Vakhtangov Theater, “he fell in love, went downstairs, bought her jewelry, but she did not accept the gift. So the knight got upset and left.” This is so lovely! Now I always tell this, such a vivid perception by a child of Moscow and its history.

— How long does it take to prepare the excursion?

- It depends on the topic. There are those on which a huge amount of literature has been written, and here you just need to select what interests you. There are topics that require serious preparation, maybe even requests, meetings with some people who have information on a particular area. The residents themselves tell interesting things. It's always a lot of work.

Selecting material is one of the most exciting moments, and here it is important to control yourself. You search, read, and it’s so captivating that by three o’clock in the morning you can find yourself somewhere on the other side of Moscow. Because when you are preparing material, one fact clings to another: but the last name slipped through, shouldn’t I clarify... It’s very difficult, but it’s even more difficult to choose something when you’ve collected great amount material and you understand that it is impossible to tell everything - it is always a shame to remove part of the information.

Then comes another very important point: you must connect all the objects... It’s clear that if the excursion is thematic, for example our “Moscow Embassy”, then everything is more or less clear. And if this is a tour along the street and there are absolutely dissimilar buildings, absolutely different stories, but you have to somehow connect them with each other, you have to get a story.

I had a wonderful excursion, I led her along Volkhonka, and one of the excursionists, as an intelligent person, warned me in advance that she needed to pick up her child from kindergarten, so in 50 minutes she would leave quietly in English. And I’m leading a tour and I understand that 50 minutes have already passed, an hour has passed, and the woman is still with us. And I tell her: “Please excuse me, but it seems you need to pick up your child from kindergarten.” She says: “You understand, I can’t leave. You finish telling the story and the next thing is so catchy that we will now see further that I just can’t leave.” This was the right excursion, since it happened like this.

There are also purely technical, special aspects that also need to be taken into account: how to stand correctly so that everyone can hear you, so that you can react to the expression of your face, eyes, so that you can see tourists and at the same time do not interfere with their vision of objects; how to stand to show the object as much as possible; how to stand up so that you can talk about several objects without leaving your place. When you prepare an excursion, it takes extra time. For example, I’m walking down the street and, to the surprise of passers-by, I begin to run from one place to another, cross the street, come back, in order to understand where it’s better for me to put the group. And here you need to show your imagination.

There are many other nuances. For example, you need to take into account the location of pedestrian crossings: where are they located, is it convenient for you to cross from this side to the opposite side, so as not to return to this crossing through another crossing, to somehow go further along the route, because people are not interested in the same thing place to go back and forth. In general, this is actually a very big job.

— Let's try to name the pros and cons of your profession.

— I was asked this question on excursions... But it turns out that the disadvantages turn into advantages. Of course, this is a job that requires a lot of physical activity, because you need to move a lot both in the preparation process and during the excursion. And they sometimes last two or three hours, and sometimes six or seven.

Weather that we do not choose, and our Moscow weather is not pleasing, let’s say, most of the year. Next is that you are always working, because you must be on the topic of modern Moscow, know everything new that appears, new books about Moscow, new information, new objects. There is so much material that you will never be able to master it completely, but you always strive for it. As a result, you constantly train your memory, your mind, you are always on the move and constantly in the fresh air.

And people are different, and you make a lot of effort to keep attention. When this works out, I feel a tremendous moral uplift because I give my energy to people, and they give theirs in return. After an excursion I always feel emotionally charged. Everything is interconnected here, and if you like it, then you enjoy it more.

Photo: Official portal of the Mayor and Government of Moscow

How to see an ancient city among skyscrapers and cars? Where is the utopian house located? Who comes up with city tours and who goes on them? How to plan a route correctly and make a person listen carefully? The leading guide of the City Tour Bureau of the Museum of Moscow, Larisa Skrypnik, told the site about the pros and cons of being a guide, about the mysteries of Moscow and the best excursionists.

— It seems that everything about Moscow has already been told, all the city’s labyrinths and nooks and crannies have been traversed, and suddenly a new route, a new excursion appears - how is this possible?

There is, of course, a mandatory block of excursions. As a rule, this is a sightseeing tour of Moscow, Red Square, and the historical center, which are intended specifically for the first acquaintance with the city - for those who want to learn about the city in which they live. There are quite a few of them - as experience shows, Muscovites often don’t know the city well. It seems to a person: I’m here, I can do everything - and he passes by interesting places, not paying attention to them. But when interest is shown, a person, as a rule, becomes our regular client. That is, someone who came once begins to come constantly. It is very joyful to see how the popularity of walking and bus excursions is increasing year after year: more and more citizens want to learn as much as possible about the capital.

But there is another block of routes - those that we come up with ourselves. These are always unusual walks where we show the city from a new side. They can be thematic, dedicated to certain dates or events. So, we are constantly developing new routes through unexplored Moscow. We really want to show our favorite city from different sides; I want the participants of the walks to fall in love with Moscow just like us. And such excursions are usually in great demand.

— Can you tell us more about such routes?

— There was an interesting story during the celebration of the anniversary of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. We were approached with a request to come up with a walking tour of Gogol’s places. Moreover, they asked to show not only the monuments to the writer, which are located at a distance of 400 meters from each other, not only the temple of Simeon the Stylite, of which Gogol was a parishioner, but something else unusual. This is a challenge in a sense, I really love such things. It was necessary to do a walking tour and tell a lot, a lot about Gogol. As a result, with great interest for myself, I discovered more than 20 places associated with Nikolai Vasilyevich on Arbat. Not in Moscow as a whole, but only on Arbat. Exclusive excursions are born, for example, from such an offer - to help someone with a topic.

Or, for example, an excursion dedicated to 1612 in Moscow. She was not particularly in demand; no one ever asked to take her to these places. But when the request finally appeared, it turned out that this was indeed a very interesting excursion. Of course, excursions are also born because you yourself really like something. I love architecture, and of course I came up with a walking tour of Art Nouveau. Routes may appear after you have read an interesting book. Now there are a lot of memoirs coming out, all sorts of works by pre-revolutionary Moscow scholars, which we did not know before. You read - and suddenly you see the area completely different, not the way you imagined it, and you get the idea to take a tour of this place and show Moscow from some, perhaps unexpected side.

- How does this happen? How is the excursion prepared?

— You said that you have developed a tour of Art Nouveau, but this is not exactly Moscow style, what are you showing?

— It seems to me that the most difficult thing in your work is to make people listen; not all guides and not always succeed in this.

— How long does it take to prepare the excursion?

Selecting material is one of the most exciting moments, and here it is important to control yourself. You search, read, and it’s so captivating that by three o’clock in the morning you can find yourself somewhere on the other side of Moscow. Because when you are preparing material, one fact clings to another: but the name slipped through, and why not clarify... This is very difficult, but it is even more difficult to choose something when you have collected a huge amount of material and understand that it is impossible to tell everything , — it’s always a shame to remove some information.

Then comes another very important point: you must connect all the objects... It is clear that if the excursion is thematic, for example our “Moscow Embassy”, then everything is more or less clear. And if this is a tour along the street and there are absolutely dissimilar buildings, absolutely different stories, but you have to somehow connect them with each other, you have to get a story.

— Let's try to name the pros and cons of your profession.

The weather is not of our choosing, and our Moscow weather is not pleasant, let’s say, for most of the year. Next is that you are always working, because you must be on the topic of modern Moscow, know everything new that appears, new books about Moscow, new information, new objects. There is so much material that you will never be able to master it completely, but you always strive for it. As a result, you constantly train your memory, your mind, you are always on the move and constantly in the fresh air.

The city excursion bureau has currently developed more than 80 topics dedicated to the history and modernity of Moscow and its famous citizens.

State cultural institution

4. organization of the inspection

5. availability of a route

TO features museum excursions should include greater mobility and frequent changes in topics and routes due to the constant development of the exhibition (introduction of new topics, exhibits, partial reexpositions, etc.). The museum tour is limited by the space of the exhibition room. The guide cannot pause during the excursion; its ability to relax and prepare the group to perceive new material is limited. Often, exhibits that appear before tourists in variety and multitude scatter the group’s attention, and the guide has to put a lot of skill and effort into organizing and directing the audience’s attention to the desired exhibit.

All of the above should be taken into account when preparing and conducting a tour of the museum.

Depending on the breadth of the topic and the depth of its disclosure, excursions are divided into overview and thematic. Also in some cases there are cyclic excursions.

The most common type of excursion is sightseeing tour.

Its purpose is to give the visitor a general idea of the museum, its collections, and the exhibition as a whole.

Thematic excursion is a tour of one specific topic. It sets the task of a complete and deep disclosure of the topic while using the maximum of relevant material presented in the exhibition.

Thematic excursions are not possible in all non-state museums. Their presence depends on the profile of the museum, the nature of its main theme, exhibition space, the number of sections and topics, and most importantly, on the variety and richness of museum material.

Cycle excursions For non-state museums, this is a rare phenomenon, since they require combining excursions with a single theme, working with the same group of visitors in a certain sequence for a certain time.

II. Preparation museum excursion

1. Starting work on new excursion is determination of the topic, purpose, range of issues that need to be covered.

All these components of the initial stage of work depend, first of all, on the profile of the museum, the collections that are presented in the exhibition, as well as the demand of visitors.

IV. Guided tour methodology

The main methods and techniques for conducting an excursion are outlined in the process of developing its content. However, they receive specific forms and a complete character only after special testing at the exhibition, in conditions as close as possible to an excursion. The guide must, in practice, choose the most successful methodological techniques for a given exhibition.

The following are distinguished: general techniques conducting the excursion:

2. story

In practice, they all act in interconnection, ultimately forming a single excursion method. Its main requirement is an organic connection between the show and the story, but, as a rule, in the process of conducting an excursion, the show precedes the story. Displaying an exhibit is not a simple demonstration of an object. Each material presented in the exhibition carries certain information and plays a certain role. The guide’s task is to convey this to the tourists.

When conducting a specific excursion, show and tell methods are implemented through a number of techniques, such as:

1. verbal or mental reconstruction (recreation of an event based on the materials presented in the exhibition)

2. comparison

3. quoting the exhibited documents (the excerpts read out should be skillfully combined with the display of the exhibit itself, helping to reveal the topic)

Conversation is an integral part of any excursion. First of all, these are the introductory and final parts of the excursion, which were discussed above. Certain elements of the conversation are introduced into the main part of the excursion, having thought through questions for the excursionists in advance.

In addition to showing, telling and talking, which form the basis of the excursion methodology, additional techniques are often used in museum excursions: listening to sound recordings of the memories of participants in the events discussed in the excursion, watching videos, filmstrips, etc. It should be noted that resorting to such methods should be used only in cases where this material is bright, emotional, and rich in information. The duration of such “inserts” should not exceed 4-5 minutes. Otherwise, the attention of tourists will be scattered, and interest in continuing the excursion will decrease.

For a more complete disclosure of the topic, with a small number of exhibits, you can resort to the use of additional, auxiliary material not included in the exhibition: photographs, reproductions, copies, diagrams, maps, drawings, etc. (the so-called “tour guide’s briefcase”).

V. Some rules for conducting an excursion

The success of the excursion depends on many factors. The guide is required to:

Knowledge of the material

Correct speech

Impeccable look

Ability to establish contact with a group, etc.

During the excursion, the guide must arrange the group in such a way that the excursionists, without exception, can see the exhibition material with which this moment work is underway. The guide's place is between the group (1.5 m from it) and the stand. When showing this or that material with a pointer (unless a document is being read out or certain features of the exhibit are indicated), the guide should be addressed to the group and observe its reaction. The guide's indifference to the behavior of the audience, as well as his display of a bad mood, are not acceptable. The guide is a kind of actor. And the success of both the entire work of preparing the excursion and conducting it for a specific excursion group largely depends on how he prepares his role and plays it in public.

VI. Improving the excursion

Before going out with a prepared excursion to a group, the guide must present it to a more experienced and knowledgeable employee for audition, and then the excursion is officially accepted by a commission, which may include representatives of the museum administration, staff members, and members of the Museum Council.

But even after the commission accepts the excursion, the work on it is not considered completed.

It is necessary to continue studying the chosen topic - get acquainted with new publications, clarify information about the exhibits, listen to tours of other guides, analyze the reaction of visitors.

This will make it possible to constantly improve the excursion, make it more relevant and attractive for tourists, and, consequently, increase interest in the museum as a whole.

OUTLINE OF THE MASTER CLASS

“HOW TO PREPARATE AND CONDUCT A TOUR IN THE MUSEUM”

Target: familiarizing teachers with the main aspects of work experience

on organizing and conducting an excursion to the school local history museum.

Master class objectives:

Convey your experience through direct and commented demonstration of the sequence of actions, methods, techniques and forms of pedagogical activity;

Joint development of methodological approaches and techniques for solving the problem;

Create an emotional positive attitude towards business cooperation, stimulate the activity of participants through the inclusion of teachers in work in subgroups;

Reflection of their own professional skills by master class participants.

Equipment: multimedia installation, museum exhibits, texts, documents, handouts.

Plan

Organizational and motivational stage (induction)

Presentation of experience

Creating a problematic situation

Simulation (simulated game)

Physical education minute

Advertising

Summarizing

Reflection

Progress of the master class

Organizational and motivational stage

Greetings to the participants of the master class.

Announcement of the topic.

Joint goal setting.

What needs to be done to prepare and conduct a tour of the museum?

I chose a poem as the epigraph for today’s meeting

"Free conversation":
- Shall we talk?- About what?- About various things and other things.- About what is good- And not very good.- You know something.

- But I know something.- Shall we talk?- Let's talk.- Suddenly it will be interesting.

II . Presentation of experience

This is our 1st lesson in which we will get acquainted with the local history museum high school No. 1, its sections. They are on your tables Business Cards museum. During a correspondence excursion to our school local history museum, you will get to know it in more detail.

( Presentation about the school local history museum of the State Educational Institution “Secondary School No. 1 of Starye Dorogi named after Hero of the Soviet Union F.F. Kulikov" ).

Creating a problematic situation

Now it’s time to set the task for our meeting. During your work, we will select guides, researchers, journalists, those without whom it is impossible to imagine the activities of any museum.

Before going on the tour, I want to treat you and invite you to our museum. (Participants are asked to choose a candy)

Now I’ll ask you to take a seat at the table that matches the color of your section.

We are not in our museum, but you have a unique opportunity to visit it not only virtually through a presentation, but also to actually look at, evaluate and work with exhibits using a mobile museum - the “Museum in a Suitcase”. What do you think can fit in such a small suitcase??

I would like to invite you to learn together how to evaluate a museum exhibit, give it characteristics and talk about it. It’s not for nothing that there is a saying: “Things speak!”

Participants of the master class are invited to work together with the master.

Without studying it completely, it is impossible to judge the subject as a whole. We present to your attention one of the exhibits of our school local history museum - a glyak (vessel). Our task is to describe it and find out where, when, by whom, what it was used for and what material was used to make it. We must apply the information received in order to compose the text of the excursion and conduct it.

Modeling

(Work in groups)

I. There are museum exhibits, documents, and texts on the tables.

Each group needs:

1. Write a story showing the exhibit with explanations (for journalists)

2. Get acquainted with archival documents and draw a conclusion (for researchers)

3. Based on the proposed text, conduct a tour of your section (for guides)

1 group ( Starodorozhchina literary) (books by Starodorozhchina authors: K. Tsvirko, A. Usenya)

2nd group (The People's War was going on) (cap, letters from the front)

3 group (Folk crafts) (belt, pottery bowl)

4 group (Matulya-school) (pen with inkwell, petition to open a school)

5 group (Starodorozhsky Region) (book “Old Roads”, stone with a hole (tool) 2-1 thousand BC).

Physical education minute

Advertising

(Presentation of group work of master class participants)

Summarizing

1 . Upon completion of the work, everyone is awarded the title:

guide,

researcher,

journalist.

2. Joint practical work

Emblem of the local history circle. In order to retain memories of visiting various interesting places for a long time, people usually purchase objects depicting some objects of the area where they visited. Together with you we will also assemble the emblem of our educational institution. Assembling a high school emblem from a mosaic

№ 1. Each group has a puzzle piece on the table for a single picture.(Glue on a large Whatman paper).

So I think that after our master class you have an idea of what the work of a museum worker is. After your own attempts to describe the exhibit, compose a story about it and use it during the excursion, you will remember it for a long time.

Reflection

Game "Suitcase of WISHES"

Each participant takes turns: at parting, all group members collect a “suitcase of wishes”, putting in it the exhibits with which they worked. Everyone speaks out and necessarily expresses their admiration for the positive aspects of the personality and formulates their wishes.

What did you get from the master class?

Were your hopes met?

Thank you very much for your work.

One thing is undeniable:

Even if you don't go out into the world,

And in the field outside the outskirts, -

While you are following someone,

The road will not be remembered.

But wherever you go

And what a muddy road

The road is the one I was looking for,

Will never be forgotten.

I want you to also pass everything you hear through your heart, then everything will work out for you.

Clay

Tapered at the top, wide, rounded at the bottom

Will satisfy.

Milk storage

Museum of Secondary School No. 1, section: folk crafts Clay

Tapered at the top, wide rounded at the bottom

Will satisfy.

Milk storage

Clay

Will satisfy.

Milk storage

Museum of Secondary School No. 1, section: folk

crafts

Clay

Narrow at the top, wide, rounded at the bottom

Will satisfy.

Milk storage

Clay

Narrow at the top, wide, rounded at the bottom

Will satisfy.

Milk storage

Clay

Narrow, self-woven from colored threads

Will satisfy.

Wearing clothes

Clay

wide rounded shape

Will satisfy.

For food

Glass, metal pen

Pen with handle, square inkwell with pen stand

Will satisfy.

Writing texts

paper

letter

Copy

School opening

Book

"Old Drogi"

paper

Book with illustrations of the city

Will satisfy.

Studying the history of the city

Stone

Stone with a hole inside for a handle

Will satisfy.

Skin processing

Stone tools: To.II– beginningIthousand BC, village of Levki, Starodorozhsky district, during field work of students

Book “Old Roads”: gift from history teacher Stanilevich I.M.

Letter of request to open a school:

Feather with inkwell: To.XIX– beginningXXcentury, gift from students

Pottery bowl: To.XIX– beginningXXcentury, a gift to the museum from a local resident of the village of Starye Dorogi

Woven belt: beginningXXcentury, a gift to the museum from a local resident of the village of Zaluzhye

Cap:

Letters from the front:

K. Tsvirko:

A. Usenya:

Working with tourists (continued)

Always weigh what you say carefully. Use reputable sources, double-check the information several times. Even if incorrect information occurs frequently, this does not make it correct and there is no need to tell it to tourists. Preferred sources of information are scientific lectures, specialized museum publications, local history magazines, and books written by historians. Television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet are on last place, because unverified or distorted information prevails there.

You can read what the “excursion”, created from stories, fiction, TV shows and modern books, turns into here:
" Night excursions are one of my favorites summer fun bored citizens and curious guests of the capital, which was confirmed by the sold-out last night. Yours truly couldn’t help but poke his nose into this industry, grabbing a barley notebook) I highlight nonsense italics, I’m commenting offtopic. As we were leaving Sukharevskaya, the first to suffer from the guide’s imagination was the Sukharevskaya Tower that had previously stood there:

When building a story, do not forget that in the group there are people who perceive information differently: the majority, of course, are visual learners, but there are also kinesthetic and auditory learners. Therefore, when describing objects, use words that characterize not only the width and volume of the house, but also the bright color of the stained glass windows, the rustling of leaves near the house, and the unevenness of the bricks in the masonry. There are people for whom it is enough to look at the monument, and there are those who need to touch and feel it to get to know the object.

The guide only conveys information taken from trusted sources. He does not express his own opinion, much less impose it. People go to relax, to learn something new, but not to receive moral instruction or initiation into any religion. There should be no pressure or aggression in the tone of the conversation. People feel this and then the trip turns into torture, into the imposition of an opinion.

"As a professional historian, I know very well how to captivate an audience interesting stories on historical topics. For my lectures, I prepared dozens of examples so that the recorded lecture would not be too “dry” and academic, so that the listeners would be interested. There is no need to prepare lecture-level material here. It is enough to know the basic facts and tell tales on this topic, fortunately there are more than enough of them.
This is what happens abroad. Besides the fact that the general level of knowledge of guides is an order of magnitude higher than in Moscow travel agencies, no one tries to teach tourists about life, preach to them their religious views and political views. Perhaps this is due to the fact that a slightly different contingent goes on excursions there. Although I can’t say that local routes are ridden by people who have never seen anything in their lives or been abroad. But why is the level of “export” guides so much higher than the level of “homegrown” ones?
We rode back without a guide, avoiding a rather boring lecture about his religious views mixed with leavened patriotism. And I don’t envy the part of the group with whom he stayed, despite the fact that they had the opportunity to just walk around this incredible city...."

Tell the story in an interesting, expressive, exciting way:
"...we were taken on an excursion to Lomonosov. The guide spoke so boringly that I wanted to hang myself! It's just torture."
“...during the guide’s story about the defense and surrender of Odessa, the men cried (they actually wiped away their tears)”

If you are going to lead a tour of the temple, you need to obtain permission (blessing) from the priest in advance. If you receive it, do not forget that the story must be told in a relatively quiet voice, without disturbing the believers in the temple. A loud voice is inappropriate in a temple. It is also worth remembering that they do not stand with their backs to the altar or icons. You can stand sideways to them or slightly to the side, forming a triangle with the group.

The story should be interesting, comprehensive and not turn into a dry description of facts. For example, you drive past an enterprise, a TV tower, Mosfilm, botanical garden- tell us what interesting excursions there are, how you can get on them, how to get here.

“Yes, this is the problem with many storytellers and tour guides: they do not always understand that their interlocutors may be interested in the reasons for unusual (illogical) technical solutions, and not just the history of creation.”

"We went on a tour of Minsk on July 25. I liked Minsk very much, but the guide Margarita did not. The tour was not educational, just dry historical facts, dates. Margarita herself was languishing in the heat and constantly complained that she felt bad."

Speak rather slowly and with expression. The pace of speech and its delivery should be such that you want to listen, so that you can remember and comprehend what you heard. Otherwise it might look like this:

"...I was simply dumbfounded. Not only did my brain not have time to digest the information, it simply did not perceive some of it :-) The guide spoke very quickly, very self-confidently, not always coherently and things that contradict school textbooks (in particular - about the education of St. Petersburg)"

"...the guide, a young girl, a student, spoke very carefully and to the point about the city and the legends of the city. At the end of the excursion there was applause on the bus, the guide and driver were somewhat embarrassed. :) And we didn’t even want to leave them"

Summarize what you saw, summarize what was said. This will help tourists better remember and understand what they saw.

“I was convinced that a guide is still needed, because he structures what he saw and heard.”

If they try to interrupt you with a question in the middle of the story, don’t pay attention. When you finish the story, you can turn to the person and ask him to repeat his question.

If during the story something sudden happens around that distracts people's attention (for example, a wedding procession, dogs, squirrels), it is worth taking a short pause and then continuing.

When building a story, speak from the general to the specific. First, tell us where we are, what surrounds us, and then proceed to describe a specific object. You cannot start the story right away with some story that happened in a certain house. People simply will not understand what kind of house we are talking about, where to look and where they are in general.

Use logical transitions. Don't jump from fact to fact. No one needs a bunch of little information. Fragmentary information is difficult to digest.

When you speak important information, give a link to the sources. Otherwise, your speech may be considered unfounded or fiction.

It is clear that after the three hundredth or thousandth time it is difficult to tell it as if it were the first time. But still, people’s opinions and the emotions they receive about the walk depend on your acting talent and inspiration.

“And most of all I remember the guides, who are included in the ticket price, and I listened to lectures from as many as three. They talk so vividly, with soul and in colors! I even started recording the last, third girl guide on a voice recorder.”

The guide is an organizer, but not a driver of people. If you work in a group all day, it would be appropriate to warn everyone before the start of the trip that at the exits you will first tell something interesting for 5-10 minutes, and then - free time. Because people are often nervous, they look at you - they worry that they won’t have time to take photos and buy souvenirs. It is important to give them time for this. Otherwise it might look like this:

“I’ve been to Kostroma once, on an excursion. I was left with a terrible impression - dog-like cold, although the rest of the boat trip was warm. The excursion was crumpled, the guide was a loud, nervous lady, she commanded a lot, told little.”

Don't keep people in one place for too long. 10 minutes is enough. Then people get distracted, worry that they won’t have time to take a photo, and in cold weather they freeze.

Don't wave your arms senselessly, watch your gestures. With your hand movements you direct the gaze of tourists, helping them not only to look, but also to see.

When interacting with people, do not wear sunglasses that are too dark. People should see your eyes, this is respect. If the sun is very bothersome, a wide-brimmed hat will help.

Depending on the position of the sun, during the story, position people so that the sun does not hit their eyes. If the weather is hot, place the group in the shade; if it is cold, on the contrary, choose a sunny place, sheltered from the wind.

If lunch is planned on the route, do not forget that the guide is the last one to sit down to eat. First, he must check all the tables - how people were seated, whether everyone has enough cutlery, what exactly was served to tourists (compare with the information from the travel agency). If you travel by bus, make sure the driver is also fed. Guides, drivers, managers dine at a separate table from tourists.

Give us the amount of information that people can absorb. There is no need to overload them with unnecessary facts, abstract topics and specific terms. Take small breaks. They are necessary for understanding and assimilation of information.

How much should a tour guide say? For example, the excursion lasts 6 hours. If this is a walk around the city, then the guide says 6 astronomical hours. If outside the city - 6 academic ones, i.e. every 45 minutes he has the right to take a break for 15 minutes. On the way back, the guide, as a rule, does not speak. Tourists are relaxing at this time, some are sleeping, some are sharing their impressions with a neighbor, some are listening to music.

Sometimes on excursions there are people who lack communication. They ask questions they don't need answers to. They need time and attention. If you have the opportunity, give it to them.

If a tourist expresses his point of view on the information provided and tells a lie, do not argue with him. Everyone has the right to make mistakes. Your task is to give knowledge, and to assimilate it is everyone’s personal job. Maybe he will learn it, maybe he won’t, it’s voluntary.

If you had a country bus tour and you are returning back, warn tourists in advance that the bus goes without intermediate stops to the starting point of the excursion. People should be informed about this in advance. Otherwise, when approaching the city by bus, a procession of “walkers” will be arranged to the driver and everyone will ask him to stop there. Such situations often make drivers nervous. After all sightseeing bus- not a taxi and the driver should not drop off groups of people here and there, slowing down, changing lanes and wasting time. The guide also monitors the travel time. At the end of the excursion, he must document the time the bus stopped when the last tourist left. Otherwise Travel Company will overpay for the duration of the bus transfer.

At the end of the tour, remind tourists that you can answer their questions. And there are usually a lot of questions.

The guide tries to make the walk interesting, filled with reliable information. Moreover, he presents it in such a way that tourists understand and remember a lot. They gain knowledge and the opportunity for further reflection and perhaps independent reading and walking. It's great when the work of one person encourages you to find interesting things in new objects.

At the end of the excursion, be sure to sum up the results - tell briefly where you visited, what you saw. Thank your colleagues for organizing the walk and the tourists for their attention. This is usually followed by applause :) Your reward for a job well done.

How to conduct a city tour. How to make a good excursion. What should tourists be warned about?

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