Want to hear about some of my bad habits?
Well, I usually bite my nails, I sometimes make people wait for me… and my girlfriend accuses me of being obscenely positive… and that’s just the tippest tip of the iceberg.
Well, the worst bad habits are the ones that we don’t even realize we are doing (not all of us are so lucky to have such an outspoken girlfriend!) For us as tour guides, tour leaders and those looking for a job in the travel industry – here are four bad habits that can really get in the way of a great tour and engaging conversations with your clients.
Want a hint? They all have to do with focusing too much attention on ourselves… In this week’s tour guide training and community QnA, I tackle bad habits and what we can do to stop them!
-Kelsey T
Finished watching?
Let me know in the comments below if you have any of these bad habits. Know of any others we are tour guides should avoid? Share them with the community!
As always, like this video if you’re inspired and subscribe to join the community!
Transcript:
Hi, everyone, this is Kelsey from beabetterguide.com and welcome to our community Q&A. I often get asked what are some bad habits that we as tour guides can shake in having conversations with guests. Well, today, we’re going to look at four bad habits. You can see if you’re doing them. Let’s dive in.
You talk too much about yourself. Now, we’re all guilty of this from time to time. But here’s the real opportunity cost of doing it too much, you’re passing up one of your best chances to really connect with your guests.
Now, people will always be polite and ask you about your job and your lifestyle, and don’t hesitate to answer those questions, but don’t let yourself be the go-to subject. A world-class tour guide will flip that right back around and have the guests talk about themselves.
One upping. Now, I used to this quite a bit actually and anytime anyone told a story, I would immediately follow it up with an even cooler or even more adventurous story right when they were finished. Here’s an example to make it more clear, “Oh, you see Ted and I had always dreamed about going to Thailand to ride elephants and we did last fall.”
“Yeah, Thailand’s great. I actually lived there for seven or eight months volunteering at an elephant shelter. I don’t think you can have an authentic experience in just one week. They gave me this shirt.”
You can kind of see what happens there is it? Someone’s sharing with you that, “Oh, gosh, I really love Thailand,” and you jumped in, “Oh, I love Thailand too,” and then it’s all about you and your story now, and what’s missing is acknowledgment of their story and maybe how excited they were to share it with you, what it meant to them, why it was very special.
Before you jump in with your own story, be sure to probe a little bit deeper. One Downing. It’s like one upping, but it goes the other way. “Oh, I lost our train tickets yesterday. We searched the hotel room for two hours before we found out they were in makeup bag. Oh, Steve was mad.” “Yeah, I can totally relate. I mean last week on tour, I think I killed a guest.”
If someone is sharing a bad day or tough experience with you, empathize and acknowledge that. It’s very easy for them to feel dismissed if you just jump right in with your own even worse story.
When others are talking, you’re just waiting for your turn to talk. Now, a lot of tour guides do this, they have to plan out the conversation. While the other person’s talking, you’re thinking ahead to what you can say next, where you can direct the conversation.
However, you really need to tune in and be present to what that person is saying and, honestly, a lot of people do this in everyday life and if you can really get present when somebody’s talking to you especially on a tour, that’s going to create a genuine connection and that’s what you’re looking for with your guests.
All four these bad habits are summed up in today’s Tweetable. The sound of a bad tour leader: “Me, me, me, me me. But enough about me, what about you?” “Oh, really, me too! Me, me, me, me, me.”
Let me know in the comments below if you find yourself doing any of these bad habits in everyday conversation or on your tours. Share that Tweetable if you’re inspired. Like the video, share it around if you like the content and subscribe if you want to join the community. Thanks for being here. We’ll see you next time.
