I drink coffee and stick cloves in oranges - getting ready for the excursion ..
The aromas of citrus and cloves remind others of winter. People passing by my table are smiling. The orange-clove therapy works on me too: I happily run out into the street, and there is snow ... the first this year.
Hello Christmas excursion! No, today is a birthday. Children are wonderful and parents are amazing!
I am often offered to conduct excursions with children, considering it something rather difficult. In my opinion, a children's excursion is an amazing business, simple and complex at the same time, but it is important that you immediately feel the return, gratitude and love from the children.
What is the most important thing in a children's excursion?
A few tips for mums, dads, grandparents who walk around St. Petersburg with their children and want their children to listen and hear your historical stories:
1. Think in vivid images that are understandable to children.
First, you yourself must see the image of what you are talking about. The picture should be in color, detailed and evoke feelings for you personally.
For example, the gardener Eliseev grew strawberries in the greenhouse for Count Sheremetyev on Christmas Day. The guests are in amazement, the count in excitement exclaims: "Ask what you want!"
I can imagine everything very vividly: the count's camisole, and a wicker basket, and snow outside the window, frost down to -40 ° C and the aroma of strawberries. Therefore, it is easy to tell. And by themselves questions are born to the children: "What happened next, what do you think?" If the picture is bright, then the guys easily come up with and immerse themselves in history. Where did the Eliseevs go when they became free? What did they do? Was it easy for them in Petersburg? What would you do in their place if you had 100 rubles? And then it would be good to go from words to deeds.
2. Find a thing, a detail that characterizes your character, a story.
It is easier, of course, to use an illustration, a picture, a photograph. But the best thing is to find a thing that you can touch, smell, guess the riddle associated with it. For example, with the merchants Eliseevs, I give the guys an orange, on which the letters of the surname are lined with carnations. The letters are scattered and they must be used to form a word (Eliseev began to trade in oranges on Nevsky Prospekt).
Talking about Peter I, I like to give children a map of the area of St. Petersburg in the 18th century, and I propose to lay out an approximate plan of the city (this is for older children, of course). When we go to the Photo Salon, I give a photo and offer to find the point from which it was taken. V Summer garden I invite the guys to sculpt some of the sculptures on their own. Everything that the children touched, made efforts to solve - they will remember them for a long time.
It is not easy to find what falls into the top ten, as they say, but the process itself is worth it! For me personally, this is the most interesting thing about the excursion: the process of finding that very historical detail.
3. Less is better, but better.
Children do not remember the date, especially when they are standing, listening to even the most interesting stories from the force of 5-7 minutes. Therefore, the entire historical story should be packed in 15-20 minutes, and the entire excursion in 1.5 hours maximum.
And after such a dive, leave the children with the desire to learn more, but on their own. Not "that I told you everything, but I also remembered, listen to me carefully." Not! Fill your conversation with dialogue, searching, running, photographing, and discovering places.
4. Encouragement, prize, tasty treat at the end of the historic walk.
After the excursion, we go for lunch, dinner or afternoon tea. It's great if the food you offer the guys is relevant to today's walk. Let not all, but again the detail will be remembered for a long time and will make the meal "historical" and fascinating. And even if you feel that the children are tired of historical information, you can simply say that our hero loved just that.
If you have boys and you have visited the Suvorov Museum, then eating buckwheat porridge and cabbage soup in bread is a must. And if emperors are your heroes, take a lace napkin and a couple of porcelain plates with you. Even on military campaigns, the emperors ate simply, but always with silver and on porcelain. And this day will be special.
5. And the last, my favorite: it is easy to forget everything that is told to you and everything that is shown, but we will never forget the atmosphere when we feel good.
Be surprised, play, discover the story with the children! Love for the city is within us, and the child feels and understands everything, just talking about this love must be creative. I have about the same approach to adult excursions. And even if colleagues in the shop do not always understand this, it is very exciting to wake up the inner child in a serious adult!
On the splash screen is a fragment of a photo jasoncedit / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
An excursion, as we have already found out, is both a way of rest and a method of learning new information. In connection with such two-sidedness, special methodological techniques are being developed for conducting an excursion. The main emphasis in the excursion is made on the show, on the acquaintance of sightseers with new objects for them, on brief comments to the show.
When conducting an excursion, the following general methodological techniques are used: reception of the main show, reception of a preliminary examination, reception of a mental reconstruction of an excursion object, reception of mental reconstruction of a historical background, a method of comparison, reception of abstraction, reception of a discussion, reception of a reportage, reception of complicity, reception of personification, reception of a problem situation , reception of a retreat, reception of activation of attention, the use of visual aids from the "guide's portfolio", showing and characteristics of the object in the direction of the bus, panoramic display, a brief description of the displayed object, brief information about a unique historical or natural site, detailed description features of the object, explanations and comments during the excursion, the inclusion of bright quotes in the story, taking pauses, answering questions from tourists.
When developing an excursion, the guide should take into account that:
o the maximum number of objects that can be perceived by adult excursionists is 30, children - no more than 15; the maximum time for a continuous excursion story is 15 minutes for adults and 10 minutes for children;
maximum display time for one excursion object - 4 minutes;
For every hour of the guide's story, a 10-minute pause is possible.
Methodological techniques for conducting, their use and features depend on: the form of the tour, the content and topics of the excursion, the composition of the group, the venue, the method of travel.
1. Choice methodological techniques depending on the form of the excursion. The form of the excursion (educational excursion, excursion-conversation, excursion-game, excursion-walk, excursion-performance, etc.) significantly affects the possibility and necessity of using certain methodological techniques.
On the most common cognitive excursion (previously they were called educational), almost all techniques are used, their use and alternation depend on other decisive factors.
In a conversation tour (most often this form is used to conduct individual excursion) the methods of the main display, comparisons, abstraction, short comments, reception of answers to questions from tourists will be optimal.
In the excursion-game, most often conducted for younger schoolchildren, vivid comparisons, activation of the imagination, panoramic display, the inclusion of additional display objects (films, computer clips, archaeological finds) will help keep the attention of children.
During an excursion-walk, to keep the attention of children, the guide tries to influence not only visual and auditory sensations, but also tactile ones. For example, excursionists are given the task to collect a small herbarium, find a fossil on their own, etc.
2. The choice of methodological techniques depending on the composition of the group. As you know, the most inquisitive groups are middle-aged schoolchildren and adults. Participant students have low attention.
In children's groups, it is advisable to use the techniques of the main display, short comments, techniques of comparison and mental reconstruction; at the same time, it is undesirable to pause often and for a long time, due to which concentration of attention is weakened.
In adult groups, in addition to the main show and a more detailed story, methods of abstraction, historical reconstruction, complicity, reporting, personification are used. In individual adult groups, it is optimal to use the method of conversation and reception of comments during the show.
An experienced guide always “feels” his group and, depending on its mood, intellectual preparation and other factors, applies certain methodological techniques.
3. The choice of methodological techniques depending on the location of the excursion. An excursion in the city does not require any special methodological techniques, while out-of-town excursion is carried out according to its own laws. In this case, it is best to use the techniques of comparison, reporting, a problem situation, panoramic display.
In museum excursions using expositions, the best will be a combination of methods of display and story, a method of mentally creating a historical background, a method of personification and a method of explanation.
When conducting thematic excursion in the museum under open air the optimal methods will be the techniques of the main display, comments on objects, brief explanations, techniques of abstraction, reporting, the method of providing brief information about the uniqueness of this or that exhibit.
4. The choice of methodological techniques depending on the method of movement. It is clear that a bus tour without getting off the bus will be strikingly different from a regular walking tour or museum tour.
Concerning the bus tour with stops in certain places clear rules have been developed that regulate boarding the bus, showing and telling in the direction of travel, exits from the bus. The best techniques when moving on the bus: the reception of the show with comments, the reception of comparisons, the reception of abstraction, the reception of using visual aids from the "guide's portfolio", the reception of comments and methods of activating attention.
When walking on foot, the guide should not speak during the transition from one object to another. Walking tours use the methods of preliminary examination, detailed display and commentary, the method of comparison, the method of abstraction, the method of complicity, the method of personification.
5. The choice of methodological techniques depending on the content of the excursion and its topic. In city sightseeing excursions, it is possible to use all existing methodological techniques. Some features are inherent in the techniques used in thematic excursions. So, in a historical excursion, you can use almost all methods, but the best methods will be the methods of mental reconstruction of the historical background, the method of the main display and the method of comparison. During a botanical excursion, for example natural park, it is advisable to use the method of the main display, the reception of comments, the method of comparison. When conducting an ecological excursion, reception of a problem situation, reception of the main show, reception of complicity, reception of a reportage will bring success. The religious excursion will be more efficient using the techniques of the main screening and short commentary on it; it is possible to use the technique of complicity and mental reconstruction of the historical background. It should be borne in mind that it is not very ethical to lead the story directly in the temple, but it is better to limit ourselves to small explanations and most information to provide sightseers on the bus in advance or after visiting the temple.
A production excursion is, first of all, a reception of a reportage, a reception of complicity, a reception of the main screening, a reception of a problem situation, a reception of a discussion. In a literary excursion, it is worth using the method of the main display and comments, the method of personification, the method of quotations, the method of retreat. When conducting a theatrical excursion, one cannot do without the reception of a mental reconstruction of the historical background, the reception of abstraction, the reception of a reportage, the reception of complicity.
Features of displaying objects in the course of the bus without stopping and exiting the bus. Such a show is typical for an excursion group traveling from their place of residence (for example, from a hotel outside the city limits) to the old part of the city in order to visit the local museum. Excursion route does not imply stops, and the story of the guide is conducted directly while driving. The display of objects in the direction of travel must be prepared in advance. The guide may first give brief description object, and then show it (the story either precedes the show, or smoothly "wraps around" it). The guide's comments should be structured in such a way as to orient the tourists in advance on the appearance of the object of interest and its location.
- 1. “Peter I stayed in our city during one of the Azov campaigns. Now on the right, in the direction of the bus, you can see the temple, which was visited by the Russian tsar during his short stay in our city. "
- 2. “The Volga is the pride of our country, and we are especially proud that the sources of this great river are in our region. Ahead, in the direction of the bus, you can see the main channel of the Volga, and the bridge over which we are passing is one of 5 bridges in our city. It was built according to the project of the famous St. Petersburg architect. "
- 3. “In a few minutes we will arrive at the landing site of the world's first cosmonaut Yu.A. Gagarin. At the moment we are passing along the alley of poplars planted for the 10th anniversary of the first flight into space ”.
Panoramic display. The ability to show the city, the beauty of the surrounding nature or any architectural complex With high point is a decoration of the excursion. A panoramic display can serve as a bright start to an excursion, be its culmination or a finishing touch. In any case, a panoramic view allows you to create a more complete impression of everything seen and heard. It is advisable, after the panoramic screening, to provide the excursionists with the opportunity to ask questions (no more than 5 minutes).
The most beautiful panoramas open from observation deck in the mountains on the picturesque foothills, city panoramas also have a strong emotional impact. In excursions around Moscow, excursion groups often bring to Vorobyovy Gory, from which a beautiful panorama of the capital opens; most of Moscow is perfectly visible and observation deck Ostankino tower. In those cities where there is no sublime natural places, for a panoramic display, bell towers, preserved fortresses, high-rise buildings, etc. can be used. So, in St. Petersburg, guests of the city are often shown a panorama of the city from the height of the observation deck of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
- 1. Panoramic display before the start of the excursion (the panoramic platform is located on one of the low mountains surrounding the city): “Before you is the Volga city, surrounded on three sides by mountains. You can see the old part of the city on the Volga coast, where ancient buildings and temples have been preserved. The largest temple with a high bell tower is Cathedral of our city, it was built 100 years ago by a local architect. From here you can see several small city parks, green alleys along many streets. The construction of the city was carried out in such a way that all the central streets intersect with each other exclusively at right angles. The central part of the city resembles a chessboard viewed from above. To the right of the cathedral, you can see the old bridge over the Volga. Its length is 3.5 km and it is one of the largest bridges in Europe. New sleeping areas are located in the plains between the mountains, but our goal is the old part of the city and the Volga embankment. We leave for the bus and continue our journey. "
- 2. Panoramic display as a culminating moment: “We got to know the history of the city, its main architectural and historical sights. And now you have the opportunity to see the city from a bird's eye view. Do you see the temple on the left? This is the cathedral that you visited. To the right of it there is a bridge across the Volga, along which we made a sightseeing trip. If all our guests have admired the panorama of the city, we can go further. We are going to visit the ethnographic open-air museum ”.
- 3. Panoramic display as the final stage of the excursion: “Before you is the city, the journey through which we have already finished. Now, from above, you can once again see all the memorable places about which you learned a lot. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them. "
In any of the three described cases, the panoramic display will remain in the memory of tourists for a long time and will leave the best memories of the excursion.
Museum excursion. When conducting a museum tour, most of the basic methodological techniques are used, but taking into account the limited space.
The tour guide meets the group that has come to the museum at a specially designated place, in each museum. The guide immediately introduces himself, loudly announces the topic of the excursion and leads the group to the beginning of the story. If there is already another excursion in the hall where the group entered, the guide should either speak more quietly or go to the next hall, if the topic of the excursion allows.
In the introductory part of any museum excursion, the group should be told brief (no more than 2-3 minutes) information about the history of the museum, remind the rules of conduct in the halls where there are many glass showcases and fragile objects. After that, the guide proceeds to the main part of the excursion, standing half-turned to the window or the first exhibit. You should not focus the attention of a large group on small exhibits, since most of the tourists will not see anything, but there will be a risk of breaking the window. Transitions from one showcase to another or from one room to another should be accompanied by logical transitions in the story. In the final part of the excursion, the results are summed up, information is provided about the remaining halls of the museum, where excursionists can visit. After that, the guide answers the questions of the excursion participants and says goodbye to them.
An important condition for a well-conducted excursion in the museum is strict adherence to the time.
Additional methodological techniques. Each experienced guide always has in stock several author's methodological techniques that help turn the excursion into a high-quality learning process and a pleasant time.
- 1. Inclusion of a short meeting in the excursion with a specialist, nair i r during an archaeological excursion - with an archaeologist, during a paleontological excursion - with a paleontologist, during an art history excursion - with an artist or musician, etc. Communication with experts activates and deepens the interest aroused by the topic of the excursion, helps to better understand the issues under consideration and, of course, has a strong emotional impact on the excursionists.
- 2. Watching movies or computer clips on the topic of the excursion. Innovative moments add a special flavor to the excursion, enhance the visual impact on the excursion participants. Such additions suit during a long trip on a bus equipped with the necessary equipment.
- 3. Introduction of the search and research part on the topic of the excursion. Active actions help sightseers to improve the process of learning new information, to feel like real researchers. During archaeological, paleontological, geological, botanical, ecological excursions, tourists can be given the opportunity to find any artifacts or research objects on the surface of the earth:
lifting material at archaeological sites (fragments of dishes, fragments of iron objects washed out of the soil by rainwater);
about fossils at the sites of paleontological outcrops (shells of mollusks, ancient sponges);
o minerals at places of geological monuments (ornamental stones, semi-precious stones);
about herbarium items (leaves, flowers).
The material collected on the surface of the earth can be allowed to be taken with you, if it does not harm the monument.
4. Inclusion of mini-quizzes in the excursion process. Holding a mini-quiz is perceived positively even in adult groups. For example, a guide can offer group members to remember the length of the Volga, pictures famous artist besides those seen in the museum, name the writers whose books are dedicated to the events on the Don, etc. You can ask the sightseers to determine to which architectural style the building belongs to, what is the approximate height of the memorial stele, the length of the bridge, etc.
Questions can be asked along with answer options, for example:
“What do you think, according to what principle the name of the Russian city was most often given:
o by the name of its founder;
about the name of the ancient tribes that lived in this place earlier;
about the name of the river on which the city is based? "
Of course, the guide must not only prove the correctness of the answer with arguments, but also give examples. In this case, the correct answer is the third, and examples are cities such as Moscow, Samara, Tsaritsyn, Tomsk, Tver, etc.
- 5. Inclusion of conversation elements in the excursion. The guide, who has become acquainted with the group, during the excursion can include elements of the conversation in it, activating the group's attention and giving comfort to the psychological environment. For example, knowing that the group came to the northern city from Krasnodar Territory, you can ask if the guests are freezing while walking along the snow-covered embankment, or ask the guests what especially surprised them among the objects examined, whether there are similar ones in their city, etc. The mutual interest of the guide to the guests will cause greater satisfaction with the excursion, will leave a good impression of the city and its inhabitants.
- 6. Inclusion of theatrical elements in the excursion- participation in a national holiday, carnival, in the festival of historical reconstruction. Elements of theatricalization have entered tourism quite a long time ago and, as it were, turn the participants of educational excursions into direct participants in the events. Theatricalization has a beneficial effect both on the perception of the information provided in the excursion, and on the formation general impression about the trip. For example, during some archaeological excursions, guests find themselves on a theatrical show organized by the historical fencing club. The scenario of the excursion includes the "abduction" of one or several participants in the excursion, their release from captivity with the help of Russian soldiers, observation of a stunt fight, photographing with participants in the show in colorful costumes, archery, tasting pilaf prepared according to medieval recipes, etc. etc. Such theatrical performances are being successfully performed in the Saratov region; in Yaroslavl, guests are invited to wear simple robes and try their hand at the role of barge haulers on the Volga; at the Museum of Local Lore of Yekaterinburg, guests will certainly be greeted by a beauty dressed as the Mistress of the Copper Mountain. Such elements of theatricalization (even in an abbreviated version) cannot leave sightseers indifferent and are a wonderful addition to a thematic excursion around ancient history the edges.
Thripster turned my life around. This site allowed me to throw out the prepared bundle of resumes and do something that has brought joy, pleasant sums of money and an incredible number of interesting people into my everyday life for a whole year. And all this in a mode convenient for me, and not five days a week from nine to six. I treat the Tripster team with great fondness for clarity, honesty, efficiency (on the verge of fantasy) and openness to new ideas. Through their efforts, the site is constantly improving, and rare technical difficulties are solved as if by magic. But the most important thing: these kind people do everything that it would be difficult and boring for me to do myself. If it weren't for Tripster, I probably would have put off mastering my life's work for later.
I became a guide thanks to Tripster. I stumbled upon it a couple of years ago, read the stories of guides from Istanbul and St. Petersburg, and realized that I also want to show travelers Izborsk - one of the oldest cities in Russia. Now, after hundreds of walks with guests, I can say with confidence: Tripster is the best service for booking excursions in Russia. It's beautiful and comfortable - it's nice to look at it, and everything works on it. He is sincere - guides, support service, editors - all living people - travelers feel it, and you will feel it too. And he is active - Tripster is seriously working on promoting excursions, and in the season 80% of orders I receive through Tripster, although I have my own website and I work with several other sites - but they are not so effective. Thripster really makes the world a little better, and I'm glad I was involved in this case too.
The best audience comes from the Tripster- smart, educated, curious, open-minded people, working with whom it is great happiness. We have been on the travel market for 5 years, and we have something to compare with Out of all imaginable partners, Tripster is by far the best. The work of the support service is incredibly professional, these amazing people are ready to personally deal with any problem that arises, help with advice and just support. And another very important point for us is fantastic marketing. Is it possible with such a competition for a long time working and gaining a huge number of excellent reviews of guides to break into the "stars"? We can confidently say that it is possible. Everyone, everyone, everyone who, in one way or another, puts their energy into this wonderful project! You are crazy beautiful!
The service is very convenient. You can negotiate with the traveler directly, without intermediaries and resolve issues on the shore. An excellent commission-booking system, it is much more pleasant to think that the guide himself does not pay the site for accommodation, since this is the price of the traveler's booking and at the same time a guarantee that the excursion will take place. Notifications arrive on time, there is an opportunity to mark busy days and hours in the calendar, a user-friendly interface, communication with mail. Support will always help resolve issues. In general, the best service for guides: there are many opportunities for creativity and new excursions. Thank you very much to the entire Tripster team for their work!
During the six months working with Tripster, I made many friends, visiting my favorite city. Precisely friends, because every traveler, coming to a meeting, is tuned into acquaintance, first of all, not with a historical object or museum exhibits, but with interesting person, capable of expanding the circle of his knowledge in a particular area.
AND the best remedy in making new friends who can appreciate your knowledge and hospitality, is the Tripster service. This is a professional team, always ready to help you in any matters of organizing a particular excursion. The main thing is your idea! Offer travelers exactly what you know best and what you love to do, and the result will not be long in coming. I began to receive orders for my excursions from the first days of posting on the service. Come up with your original route or entertainment in your hometown... I wish you success in our common interesting and exciting business!
The mos.ru portal decided to figure out where the routes come from and what makes people go on excursions around the city. How to see among skyscrapers and cars ancient city? Where is the utopia house located? Who comes up with city tours and who goes on them? How to get the right route and make a person listen carefully? Larisa Skrypnik, a leading guide of the City Excursion Bureau of the Museum of Moscow, spoke to mos.ru about the pros and cons of working as a guide, about the mysteries of Moscow and the best excursionists.
- It seems that everything has already been told about Moscow, all city labyrinths and nooks have been passed, and suddenly it appears new route, new excursion- how is this possible?
- The Museum of Moscow, where I work, is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. And all these years the museum staff have been studying the city, its history, following all the changes that take place in the metropolis. There are thousands of documents, books, photographs in our collection that are still being researched. This alone gives many reasons for a new look even at the most trivial excursions.
There is, of course, a mandatory block of excursions. As a rule, it is sightseeing tour in Moscow, in Red Square, in the historic center, which are intended specifically for the first acquaintance with the city - for those who want to learn about the city in which they live. There are many of them - as experience shows, Muscovites often know the city poorly. It seems to a person: I am here, I will have time for everything - and he passes by interesting places, not paying attention to them. But, when interest is shown, the person, as a rule, becomes ours. regular customer... That is, the one who came once begins to walk constantly. It is very joyful to see how the popularity of walking and bus excursions growing: more and more citizens want to know the maximum about the capital.
But there is another block of routes - those that we come up with on our own. These are always unusual walks in which we show the city from a new perspective. They can be thematic, timed to specific dates, events. So, we constantly have new routes around the unknown Moscow. We really want to show our beloved city from different sides; I would like the participants of the walks to fall in love with Moscow as much as we do. And such excursions, as a rule, are in great demand.
- Can you tell us more about such routes?
- Was interesting story during the celebration of the anniversary of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. We were asked to come up with a walking tour of Gogol's places. Moreover, they asked to show not only the monuments to the writer, which are located at a distance of 400 meters from each other, not only the temple of Simeon the Stylite, of which Gogol was a parishioner, but something else unusual. In a sense, this is a challenge, I love such things very much. I had to do a walking tour and tell a lot about Gogol. As a result, with great interest for myself, I discovered more than 20 places associated with Nikolai Vasilyevich, on the Arbat. Not in Moscow as a whole, but only on the Arbat. Exclusive excursions are born, for example, from such an offer - to help someone with a topic.
Or, for example, an excursion dedicated to 1612 in Moscow. She was not particularly in demand, no one ever asked to drive to these places. But when, nevertheless, the request appeared, it turned out that this is really very interesting excursion... Of course, excursions are also born because you yourself really like something. I love architecture and of course I came up with a walking tour of Art Nouveau. Routes may appear after you've read an interesting book. Nowadays there are a lot of memoirs, all kinds of works by pre-revolutionary Moscow scholars, which we did not know before. You read - and suddenly you see the area completely different, not the way you imagined it, and you have an idea to make an excursion around this place and show Moscow from some, perhaps, unexpected side.
- How does it happen? How is the excursion prepared?
- First, the search for material begins: reading special literature, diaries, going to libraries and, of course, studying the area itself, which you are going to talk about. Sometimes, when you walk the streets, walk into alleys, into courtyards, you discover absolutely incredible treasures that people have not seen. For example, Nikitsky Boulevard is such a front street. But once, when I was preparing an excursion there, I saw a metal gate with a door, behind which it was written that there was a repair of shoes or some kind of hardware. In general, a completely unpresentable door. But when I entered this gateway, I realized that it was whole city with labyrinths. Who would have thought that this could be? People are always very interested in this. As if you are immersed in the past, and you can imagine how you would feel if you lived in this house and your windows looked out onto this courtyard….
- You said that you have developed a guided tour of Art Nouveau, but this is not quite a Moscow style, what are you showing?
- Since this hiking, then it passes between Ostozhenka, Prechistenka and in the lanes. This and tenement house Isakov Kekushevsky, and the own house of the architect Kekushev. This is also the apartment house of the peasant Loskov. We had such wonderful peasants who could invite the best architects and build houses in the Northern Art Nouveau style. There are really not many of them in Moscow, basically this style is widespread in St. Petersburg.
- It seems to me that the most difficult thing in your work is to make people listen, not all guides and not always succeed.
- You just need to know and understand: people cannot endlessly listen to a set of some facts, even if they are interesting enough, they still need some kind of relaxation. But it is important not just to giggle about something, but that it is tied to the topic. And by the way, on excursions sometimes the participants themselves help to find such relaxing moments. Once, on a tour of the Arbat and Arbat lanes, I had a wonderful girl of about seven years old. On the Arbat, every building has a history, and I want to tell you about everything. I started talking about the house with the knights opposite Tetr Vakhtangov and said that, unfortunately, not all of the knights survived, and this girl tells me: "But I can tell where this knight has gone." I ask: where? She says: “The fact is that he fell in love with this princess - and the Vakhtangov Theater has the Princess Turandot fountain, - he fell in love, went downstairs, bought her jewelry, but she did not accept the gift. Therefore, the knight was upset and left. " This is lovely! Now I always tell this, such a vivid perception by a child of Moscow with its history.
- How long does it take to prepare an excursion?
- It depends on the topic. There are those for which a huge amount of literature has been written, and here you just need to select what you are interested in. There are topics that require serious preparation, maybe even inquiries, meetings with some people who have information on a particular area. The residents themselves tell interesting things. It is always a lot of work.
The selection of material is one of the most exciting moments, and here it is important to control yourself. You search, read, and it is so fascinating that by three o'clock in the morning you can be somewhere in general on the other side of Moscow. Because when you prepare material, one fact clings to another: but the last name slipped through, but not to clarify ... It is very difficult, but even more difficult to choose something when you have collected a huge amount of material and understand that it is impossible to tell everything , - it is always a pity to remove some of the information.
Then comes another very important point: you must link all the objects ... It is clear, if the excursion is thematic, for example, our "Moscow Ambassadorial", then everything is more or less clear. And if this is an excursion along the street and there are absolutely dissimilar buildings, completely different stories, but you have to connect them in some way to each other, you have to get a story.
I had a wonderful excursion, I led her along Volkhonka, and one of the excursionists, as an intelligent person, warned me in advance that she needed to pick up the child from the kindergarten, so she would leave in 50 minutes quietly in English. And I am leading the tour and I understand that 50 minutes have passed, an hour has passed, and the woman is still with us. And I say to her: "Excuse me, please, but it seems to you that the child should be taken from the kindergarten." She says: “You understand, I just can't leave. You finish telling and you are so engaging with the next that we will now see further that I cannot leave in any way. " That was the right excursion, since it happened so.
There are also purely technical moments, special ones, which also need to be taken into account: how to stand up correctly so that everyone can hear you, so that you can react to the expression on your face, eyes, so that you can see the tourists and at the same time do not interfere with them seeing objects; how to stand up to show the object as much as possible; how to stand up so that you can talk about several objects without leaving your seat. When preparing a tour, it takes extra time. For example, I walk down the street and begin, to the surprise of passers-by, to run from one place to another, cross the street, come back, in order to understand where it is better for me to put the group. And here you need to show your imagination.
There are many other nuances. For example, you need to take into account the location of pedestrian crossings: where they are located, is it convenient for you to cross from this side to the opposite, so that you do not return to this crossing through another crossing, somehow go further along the route, because people are not interested in the same place to walk back and forth. In general, this is a very big job in fact.
- Let's try to name the pluses and minuses of your profession.
- I was asked this question on excursions ... But it turns out that the minuses turn into pluses. Of course, this is a job that requires a lot of physical exertion, because you need to move a lot both in the preparation process and during the excursion. And they sometimes last two or three hours, and sometimes six or seven.
The weather that we do not choose, and our Moscow weather does not please, let's say, most of the year. Further - that you always work, because you have to be in the subject of modern Moscow, to know everything new that appears, new books about Moscow, new information, new objects. There is so much material that you can never master it completely, but you always strive for it. As a result, you constantly train your memory, your mind, you are always on the move and constantly in the fresh air.
And also people are different, and you make a lot of effort in order to keep your attention. When this happens, I feel a tremendous moral upsurge, because I give my energy to people, and they in return - theirs. After the excursion, I always feel emotionally charged. Everything is interconnected here, and if you like it, then you enjoy it more.
I'm not a big fan of excursions, I like to read more about interesting places, look for them in an unfamiliar country, as well as consult with local residents. But in order to have time to get to know large quantity unique for a particular country or city unique places will have to go on an excursion. If you yourself decide to become a tour guide or help someone you know, I think it will be a great experience.
Ways to write excursions
Before you start writing an excursion, you should know that this is a very time-consuming and painstaking process, if the difficulties do not frighten, and you also have a large store of knowledge, then you will definitely succeed. To begin with, I will note knowledge in what areas must have:
- cultural studies;
- story;
- psychology;
- rhetoric;
- making plans.
So, the range of areas and skills is quite wide, so writing excursions is a very difficult, but important work for tourists. Excursions help guests of countries and cities to get acquainted with the culture local residents, learn the history of the appearance of certain places, as well as learn the signs and features of countries. At the same time, many excursions are boring enough and cannot interest tourists for a long time. Therefore, for professionals, it is important to be able to create an atmosphere of comfort and interest so that the excursion will be remembered for many years.
- route development;
- determination of the time for each place of the route;
- accounting for bus traffic patterns, if necessary;
- writing the text of the excursion;
- accounting for all historical facts;
- preservation of links to sources (for curious tourists);
- matching the text of the excursion and the route.
When writing text, try use more logical connectives so that the facts are not "taken" out of context, and a logical sequence is preserved. Don't use complicated language, the text should be understandable to every tourist.
Do not write "dry" texts, make the excursion bright and memorable. Tourists will not remember many dates, surnames and other historical formulations, fill the test with "pungency" and "piquancy" to attract listeners.
