most guides are freelance and are hired for particular jobs. Tour operators and other people employ guides mainly to inform tourists about the places they are visiting. Therefore a guide has to have a good sound knowledge not only of a particular place but also of I other things which are generally relevant for example, architecture, history, and local customs. During our training we intensively learn a vast amount of information about a whole range of subjects, 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: you have to be good at judging what your audience is interested in and you have to know how to keeptheir attention. These are not easy skills, can tell you!