The Tour Guide’s Survival Blog
When you speak English, do your visitors sometimes look puzzled, or even worse; bored? Are you worried that you are not always clear in what you say? Have you had disappointing feedback about your level of English? If so, then this blog can help. I regularly post useful pieces of text and advice specifically for tour guides who want to make their English more dynamic and tourist friendly. To stay up to date with all new blog posts enter your email address and click submit.
Tuesday, 2 January 2018
What should we eat? Have you got any food recommendations?
Play the Soundcloud audio file below to read and listen at the same time.
Guides are asked this type of question all the time. I’m sure you know what you’d like to recommend but what style of answer is good for this all important question? You want to use language that encourages enthusiasm, and if possible, you want to make the visitor hungry by just listening to you. Here are a few practical suggestions:
You gotta have some fried starters. They’re irresistible and very Roman.
Suppli is a deep fried riceball with a little mozzarella at the heart of it. Have it as a starter before pizza or pasta in a restaurant or just have one ‘on the go’ as a snack.
Then, there’s Fiori di Zucca, a zucchini flower with mozzarella and a little anchovy all deep fried in batter. Ahhh it’s my favourite! I can’t get enough of Fiori di Zucca!
And then of course there’s Baccala. You can’t leave Rome without trying baccala, beautiful fried salted cod in batter. It just melts in your mouth and is totally to die for! Lots of Romans eat fish on Friday, especially baccala.
Now you’re wondering what pasta to try, let me tell you about a few typically Roman pasta dishes. If you like a cheesey pasta then you gotta try Cacio e Pepe. It’s creamy and cheesey and absolutely delicious.
Then there’s Amatriciana, which is tomato and pancetta, a type of bacon. A week never passed by in my childhood without eating pasta all’amatriciana. Mamma mia… è buonissima!!!
Spaghetti alla Carbonara is another really popular Roman pasta, which is pancetta, egg and pecorino Romano cheese which is a cheese similar to parmesan. Perhaps you’ve had Carbonara in the local Italian restaurant where you live but trust me it’s not like it is here!
PS: You gotta is a very casual and natural way of pronouncing you’ve got to.
Sunday, 4 June 2017
I suggest doing this
In the centre of town this weekend I overheard someone giving a little advice to a couple of tourists. "I suggest to go to the Vatican Museums at about 2.00pm to avoid the queues".
While the advice he was giving was perhaps good, the grammar he used was incorrect. There are different ways to use the verb suggest and it can be confusing for non native English speakers. So here's my advice on the easiest way to use suggest + another verb.
When using suggest followed by another verb, you must use the +ing form of the second verb. Here are a few examples of suggestions you could use when giving advice to tourists:
I suggest booking in advance and asking for a table outside.
To avoid disappointment, I suggest going before 12pm, as Sant Agostino, like many other churches, closes for lunch between 12.00 and 3.00.
I suggest getting there just before sunset, as the views and the light are fantastic. Better still, bring a bottle of prosecco and two paper cups and live for the moment!
I suggest buying your tickets online, as they're cheaper and that way you also avoid queuing on the day of your visit.
David suggests watching TV with subtitles to improve your English.
Finally there are other ways to use suggest + another verb (which you can find here) but to avoid confusion, I suggest doing what I've just mentioned. Buon lavoro :-)
Thursday, 25 May 2017
How are you feeling?
Whatever the reason, connecting with your tourists on a personal human level is an absolute must for all guides. To do this you should empathise right at the beginning of a tour. Open welcoming body language and good eye contact certainly help to break down barriers. Furthermore, before telling them a million facts about about historic figures, key dates and famous events, I believe you should ask your tourists this simple question:
How are you feeling?
This way you are letting them know that it's not always easy being a tourist, particularly as they're on a busy city sightseeing holiday, instead of lying on a remote beach sipping a cocktail. So here's a piece of empathetic text that you might like to try at the beginning of your next tour:
Good morning. My name is David and I'll be taking you around the Colosseum and Forum for the next two and a half hours. But first, I'd like to ask...How are you? How are you feeling?.... Perhaps some of you have had a long flight and you're feeling a little jetlagged. Beautiful as Rome is, it can sometimes be a bit chaotic, so I hope my city is being kind to you. Or for some of you maybe this is not your first guided tour of the holiday and you're thinking "Oh gosh another tour, I'm going to die!!!!" I promise I'll take it easy on you and no, no-one has ever died on one of my tours. So you're in safe hands.......Okay everyone, if you're ready, then let's go!
Monday, 10 April 2017
Good Friday at the Colosseum
If you're doing a tour of the Colosseum in the next few days, this little piece of text is ready-made for you:
At the moment they're getting ready for a big TV event on Friday.
Every year on the evening of Good Friday, the day Christians believe Jesus Christ died on the cross, the Pope comes to the Coliseum and leads prayers, which is known as the Way of the Cross. It's also known as the Stations of the Cross.
As you may already know, the Way of the Cross is a procession that commemorates the fourteen stages of Christ's passion. At each of the stations, which are laid out around the exterior of the Colosseum, a meditation is read.
Although it will certainly be a big spectacle on Friday, it's quite uncomfortable, as there will be thousands and thousands of people here.
Thursday, 6 April 2017
The Cloakroom at the Borghese Gallery
Here's a short piece of text that's in a clear and customer focused style:
Saturday, 25 March 2017
Radio Headset
Get your tour off to a good start with some clear advice about radio headsets:
We’re about to give you a little radio headset and brand new earphone, so you can hear me speaking…..
Okay, has everyone got a headset and have you opened the earphone and plugged it in. Please make sure you have plugged the earphone in fully….
Let’s do a sound check. “Testing one two, testing…Can everyone hear me? At the side you have a volume control, to increase or decrease the volume.
The channel is already set to number 5, so please don’t change that. Is everyone okay?
Pickpocketing
How can you warn tourists about pickpockets without freaking them out? Try this:
Just a few words about personal security, As in any big city, particularly in crowded areas, please be aware of pickpocketing. I don’t want to alarm you but just be sensible with your bags and possessions and always have an eye on them. For example, keep your bag in front of you like this, and gents certainly don’t leave your wallet in your back pocket.
Managing toilet requests in a large group
For a guide it can be frustrating when a visitor asks to use the toilet just after the tour has started. This can be distracting for you, as well as your other visitors. Here are a few pieces of text that are both diplomatic and customer focused:
In a moment we are going to enter the Colosseum and we will be inside for about 40 minutes. Afterwards, you will be glad to know that we’ll be stopping for a short toilet break before moving on to the Forum.
Can we quickly stop as I need the loo?
Unfortunately, we can’t stop right now as it’s a group tour and we are also not near the toilets. However, if you can possibly wait for about 15 minutes, we will certainly stop at the bathrooms for a break.
Yes, if you really need the bathroom now, you can find it over there. We must continue the tour and we will be over here for the next 15 minutes, so that should give you enough time to use the bathroom and then rejoin us.
Before entering the Sistine Chapel
Just before you enter the Sistine Chapel, you want to clearly communicate the rules without sounding too aggressive. Therefore you want to be assertive. In other words you command attention while still remaining customer focused. The following piece of text helps you to be clear and direct, without being aggressive:
Now we are going to enter the Chapel. But first I must give you a few clear words of warning.
First of all, inside the chapel you are asked to remain silent. You cannot speak. Neither can I. So please, you must be silent.
Secondly, please remember to maintain your dress code. Shoulders and knees should be covered and hats or caps should be removed.
Finally, no photos!! This is the only part of the museums that you cannot use a camera, a smartphone or any kind of photographic device. If you are found to be taking pictures (even without a flash) security will immediately demand your camera and they will delete everything. So please, put your camera in your bag and just enjoy the chapel.
Tuesday, 21 March 2017
Finishing Up
Here's an ideal piece of text to finish a group tour:
Alas, our journey together has come to an end. Thank you everyone for being such a nice group. It has been a real pleasure being your guide this morning. I've enjoyed myself and I hope you have too!
Finally, if you would like to leave any feedback on our website about your experience with me, please do so. We always like to know what was good about the tour, and of course we also like to know how we can improve things.
Once again, thank you so much and enjoy the rest of your stay in Rome, especially the ice cream!! Ciao ciao!