Planning Guided Tours For Different Types Of Visitors
When planning a guided tour for your factory or business, several factors should be considered. Not every tour will need the same preparation. Much of the necessary equipment, such as a headset tour guide systems and participants, as well as other considerations will depend on:
- Purpose of the tour
- The attendees that will be present
- The number of attendees expected
- The environmental considerations of the tour
- The type of interaction between the guide and attendees needed
For a tour to be successful, it must be carefully planned out using the factors above and more. You can’t approach factory or facility tours with a cookie-cutter or one size fits all approach.
However, you can create several basic plans, applying the best fit for the situation. That will give you a base from which to make adjustments as necessary.
Purpose of the tour
The first consideration is to determine the purpose of the tour. Knowing this will let you plan the script for the tour guide and other information that must be readily available for the attendees.
For example, if the tour is made up of potential customers for your product, the information to be presented will be much different than that provided for field trips from local area schools.
Potential investors or partners for your business may need to see some of the more sensitive areas of your operation so they can determine if investing is a good move for them.
Attendees from media outlets are another matter. While media exposure is good for your business, you must be careful to make sure their questions are answered properly to get the right spin on the story.
Expected type and number of attendees expected
Often, you can also combine the types of attendees and the number of attendees that will be present. There may be some variation. But overall, this would be a good place to start planning: the actual physical size of the tour. It should also give you an idea of what tour communication will be necessary.
This will let you determine if multiple, simultaneous tours should be provided or if one group will work best. Of course, large groups are possible. But often it’s a good idea to keep the number of attendees manageable for the tour guides or guides available. If multiple, yet simultaneous tours are needed, ensure your equipment has multiple channel capability to avoid crosstalk between groups.
The tour environment must be considered
Obviously, you’ve provided the proper PPE (personal protective equipment) for your employees. Hearing protection is essential in noisy environments. The type of protection is determined by the decibel level of the work area, ensuring the NRR rating is consistent with the amount of noise present.
The same consideration should be given to tour attendees and guides. There are many styles of tour guide headset systems systems and participants. Even in low-noise environments, a headset can enhance your communication with the tour attendees.
For example, in a low noise setting, ear speakers may be all that’s required. These fit comfortably over one ear, with a “bud” type speaker inserted into the ear canal. The headset for the tour guide can have either an inline mic or an adjustable, yet compact boom microphone.
Attendees may also need mics, which we’ll cover in a minute.
However, if moderate noise levels are expected, a headset tour guide system may be needed so that attendees have speakers that fully cover the ear for better hearing protection. These are usually lightweight and are often of a behind-the-neck construction. This also allows for protective headgear to be used, if required.
For headsets tour guide systems used in higher decibel environments, you’ll need enhanced, full coverage ear speakers. When protective headgear isn’t required, a solid adjustable headband that’s padded will ensure both stability and comfort.
When hard hats are necessary, the headset may use an adjustable strap to support the full around-the-ear speaker. Additionally, a back band that presses the earphones onto the ear helps ensure an adequate, effective seal.
Now that you’ve established the intent of the tour, the type and number of the attendees, and addressed the size of the tour, it’s time to determine the last factor: interaction.
The Type of Interaction Determines the Headset Tour Guide System
The type of microphones used will depend of the type of interaction needed or desired. For example, if conducting a tour for a school field trip, interaction will usually be minimal.
That means you might need a headset tour guide system that includes a boom mic, while a handheld microphone, controlled by a second guide or the student’s teacher, will be used for questions the students may have.
With potential customers or investors, you might want everyone in the tour to have the ability to interact immediately with the tour guide. For the attendees, a boom mic with a push-to-talk button might be the best option. This will keep down potential “chatter” interference, yet still allow the attendees to ask questions.
You might want to use the same options for media tours as you do for student field trips. You want media personnel to interact. Yet, at the same time, you want to stay in control of the tour. Using a handheld wireless tour guide system for their questions can keep the tour orderly, without members of the media trying to talk over each other.
A Final Consideration
Most of the time, you’ll already know the types and sizes of the tours you’ll host at your location. You can purchase the necessary equipment to have on hand for these events.
However, there may be times you’ll get an occasional tour request for which you don’t have the equipment at the ready. In this type of situation, you have an option.
You can rent headset tour guide systems to handle any unusual circumstance. For example, if the size of the tour is above the norm, just rent enough headsets to handle the increase.
You may not have many school field trips. If you do schedule one, order rental units far enough in advance to handle this unique situation.
Taking the factors we’ve discussed, you can ensure that every tour experience will be pleasant… and beneficial.
And in every case, you message will be heard… loud and clear.
