Most guides are freelance and are hired for particu
lar jobs. Tour operators
and other people employ guides mainly to inform tou
rists about the places they are
visiting. Therefore a guide has to have a good soun
d knowledge not only of a
particular place but also of other things which are
generally relevant – for example,
architecture, history, and local customs. During ou
r training we intensively learn a
vast amount of information about whole range of sub
jects, and we have to be
capable of jumping from one topic to another in the
same sentence! But the way in
which a person conveys this knowledge is the key: y
ou have to be good at judging
what your audience is interested in and you have to
know how to keep their
attention. These are not easy skills, I can tell yo
u!
A guide
׳
s commentary should be interesting, lively, and abo
ve all,
enthusiastic. It shouldn’t
be too academic and
׳
heavy
׳
, but neither it should it be
frivolous. A sense of humour is also important, but
again one should only be
humourous where appropriate.
׳
Getting the balance right
׳
is the main skill of
guiding and commentaries should vary according to e
ach group. A group of
schoolchildren and a group of architects require a
very different approach.
26
Tourists ask a lot of questions and a guide should
be friendly, helpful, and
approachable. Guides shouldn’t claim to know everyt
hing - we
׳
re not superhuman!
If you don’t know the answer, say so, but add
׳
I’ll find out it for you
׳
.
Questions can vary. They can be practical ones, it’
s important to know
where the toilets are situated as well as the date
of a monument! When things go
wrong – as they occasionally do – a guide should pa
use and calmly sort out the
problem, and try to make sure that the original iti
nerary is kept to.
A guide takes on a number of roles for the tourist:
teacher, entertainer,
ambassador, nurse, and the boss. As teacher the gui
de is passing on information, as
we’ve discussed. Most tour groups are on holiday so
they want to enjoy themselves
and want to be entertained to a certain extent. Peo
ple also need looking after, so
you sometimes have to be a nurse. Some people are j
et-lagged or have minor
illnesses (sometimes worse!). When we train, we do
a basic first-aid course.
As a guide you really are an ambassador for your co
untry and it is your job
to promote it. For many people you are the only per
son from that country that they
have any contact with. As an ambassador you also ha
ve to know about diplomacy
and you are responsible for making sure everyone is
happy.
You also have to be the boss in order to ensure tha
t the itinerary runs
smoothly. You’re often in charge of checking in and
out of hotels, taking care of
baggage, money, and so on. Efficiency is very impor
tant in all of this.
Above all as a guide you have to like people. You m
eet the world in this
job, some great people and some awful ones, but you
have to try to treat them all
as equals. Don’t be patronizing, but welcome everyo
ne as if they were a VIP to
your country. But most of all enjoy it