With so many details to get ready, planning a tour can be daunting. Depending on who the tour participants are, you may need to make arrangements with catering, hotels and meeting facilities, airlines, transportation companies, sign and graphics companies for tour stops and directional aids, landscapers for the factory grounds, the list goes on and on.
But, when it comes to large or critical tours, there are tour communications concerns to deal with. Whether it be for investors, senior management, sales staff and user groups or even employee orientation tours, you want your message to be heard loud and clear.
Here are some tips that can make all the difference in your event’s success.
1. Plan Your Communication in Advance
Honestly, checking into a tour guide system is often left until the last minute. As a result, there is a scramble to secure the necessary headsets and other equipment needed to ensure the tour runs without problems.
For larger special events, to make sure your communications requirements are handled efficiently, create a checklist early of all activities to be completed… and make sure securing and checking the proper tour guide and attendee communication gear is at the top. Contact us at least three weeks in advance to ensure availability and allow all logistics to be ironed out.
If you already have a wireless tour guide system, have your team test the headsets, headphones, microphones, and other components to ensure they are working properly. The day of the tour is not the time to discover malfunctions.
2. Take the Tour Environment into Account
When selecting a tour guide system, the location of the tour plays a significant role. What type of environments will they encounter?
For example:
Will they be in high decibel locations? Headsets and headphone construction must adequately muffle the noise.
Office and laboratory environments require little or no additional protective equipment. However, the guides and presenters need to be aware of any noise in the facility so as not to disturb the natural work environment.
If the tour takes attendees through heavy manufacturing areas, then compatibility with mandated safety PPE must be ensured.
3. Consider the Purpose of the Tour
If you’re planning to rent tour equipment, carefully define the tour’s purpose. For example, if the guided tour is designed to inform, with little or no interaction from attendees, a one-way tour guide system fills the need.
Should attendees have questions, this can be addressed with a wireless handheld microphone. This allows the tour guide to maintain control, while still providing interaction when necessary.
In tours where frequent interaction between guide and attendees is needed or desired, headsets that include an integrated microphone work best. Orientation tours, staff walkarounds, or inspection tours are three examples when two-way communication enhance the experience.
Concluding thoughts
Planning in advance ensures that you and your tour attendees experience an enjoyable, useful meeting. Taking the environment and purpose of the tour into account is crucial when selection a tour guide system.
Selecting the proper headsets, headphones and other communication devices ensures a pleasant, productive tour. Attendee comfort is a top priority if you want your message to be heard, loud and clear.
Don’t guess at what you need. If you’re a first-time buyer or renting equipment for a one-time tour, get help from a facility tour expert. A qualified sales representative will make sure you get what you need… when you need it.
