The Big Question: How to Get People Talking on Tour?
Let’s face it, no matter which part of the world we work in – all of us guides need to be comfortable talking to people we’ve just met. For many, this is an especially challenging part of the job and one that takes a lot of practice to improve.
Well to help you on your way, this week’s audience-driven tour guide training will offer 3 great tips on how to get people talking and avoid that dreaded awkward silence.
Done watching?
Share your personal experiences and tips for getting people chatting below! What has worked for you in the past? What is the one piece of advice you would give a brand-new tour guide?
Transcript:
Hi, everyone. I’m Kelsey from beabetterguide.com, and you’ve reached this week’s Q&A where you ask the questions and I’ll submit the answers.
Our first question is one I get asked all the time and that’s “How do I start great conversations with my guests?” Whether it’s on the first day, your first dinner, your first meeting.
How do I avoid that awkward silence? We’ve all had moments that probably went a bit like this… “So, Johnson, looks like you’re really into mustaches.”
Yeah, not my best line. But here are three ways that you can be a great conversationalist and get the ball rolling.
Well, for starters, try and avoid the usual conversation openers. These are the, “So, what do you do? Where are you from?” or “Crazy nice weather we’re having here, right?”
Instead, try and spice it up with one of these great conversation starters. “So, Steve, are there any personal passion projects that you’re working on this year?”
“Hey, Marie, what’s something that you do just for the fun of it?” “Mildred, is there anything that you’re working on, especially this year?”
You know, play with the words a little bit. But since you’re trying to open up, people can share their passions and hobbies with you.
Two, ask more how and why questions, instead of what or when questions.
So, for example, instead of saying, “Oh, what brings you on this tour? You should ask, “Oh, how did you choose this tour?” or “How did you choose to come to Uruguay?”
Another example might be if a group is there together on your tour, ask somebody, “Oh, how do you know so and so?”
That way you learn about the people on your tour and you can avoid those one-word answers that sometimes come with the other questions.
Three, be a passion detective. People love speaking about their passion. So, it’s up to you in conversation to be a careful observer and a close listener.
Here are some clues when somebody may be talking about one of their passions. They get a little more animated, maybe they go on a few more tangents, they start getting excited, their voice starts to rise.
If you see any of those clues, that’s a great direction to go in your conversations. Get interested on what that person is talking about and they’re going to open up to you.
And that brings us to today’s tweetable. Now, I’m new to the Twitterverse, but if you want to send this out there, this is shout out to my good friend, Eli Barns because he once told me, “In conversation, it’s always better to be interested than interesting.”
So, how to get people talking and be a great conversationalist, the three answers we gave today were, of course, avoid those usual openers, be a passion detective was the third one, and the second was ask more how and why questions.
So, I hope you enjoyed the video today. Share that tweetable if you’re inspired. Post in the comments below how you get people talking. And thirdly, of course, if you have any questions, submit them below and I’ll respond as soon as I can.
Thanks so much for being here and I’ll see you next time.
