How to Write a Tour Guide Script

that Wows Guests

By Breanna Carey
October 5, 2021

As you figure what to include and how to write a tour guide script, know that
you are pivotal to the guest experience.

What is a tour guide script?

Before your tour begins, you’ll want to share a little preamble with travelers.
Creating a tour guide commentary gives guests a sense of what to expect
from a tour. In this case, you might start with:

• Introducing who you are

• Confirming the tour type and where you’ll be heading
• Noting washroom locations
• Mentioning the number of stops along the route

An intro will give guests an idea of when to pay attention. Varying your pace
and taking a pause can make your guest’s ears perk up. And, the best part?
They aren’t expecting you to be speaking constantly.

In fact, guests may even appreciate a bit of silence so they’re able to process
their own thoughts while on tour.

Tour guide script opening remarks

Start with something funny that acts as an icebreaker. Your witty banter could
relate to the area, the weather or how this happens to be your first time
leading this tour (and where you silently plead with them to go easy on you).

Cue the awkward chuckles and mild concern, after which you showcase your
enthusiasm and competence. From here your goal should be to figure out
how you can immerse your guest in the story.

In your tour guide safety script, this is one of the first segments where guests’
eyes will glaze over. Don’t let this happen! Make safety entertaining with some
witty banter and overly exuberant demonstrations or stories of what happens
when guests fail to pay attention.

You’re likely to have a range of personality types amongst your tour guests. So,
aim to get everyone on the same page with some humour.
How to provide tour commentary (step-by-step)

Any tour should start with opening remarks about what guests can look
forward to. Earn guest’s attention by structuring your tour commentary in a
way that puts their interests first.

Keen to deliver a captivating tour? Start by following these guidelines:

1. Address important topics

Guests want to head into a tour feeling confident that a guide will deliver a
memorable experience. With your approach, aim to be both informative and
engaging with your guests from the get-go.

2. Bookend points of interest

Lead with the most commonly asked questions and topics that are featured
in your tour listing. Consider mentioning whether food will be available and
where guests can find washroom locations along the tour route.

You’ll also want to address anything that isn’t concrete, like whether they’ll
have time to explore and photograph a famous landmark. Just like with GPS
in your car, it’s much easier to know where to turn if you know the route plan.

3. Address any questions

After your pre-amble confirms the tour type, make space to connect
conversationally with your guests. You can ask guests where they are from,
the reason for this vacation and try to find out what people are most looking
forward to seeing.

Ask if anyone has questions about the tour, another tour booking or a pickup
at a specific

time. And while it may not impact your tour, guests like to be considered.
As a bonus, this minimizes potential disruptions halfway and provides good
tour commentary. In addition, if there happens to be transportation for the
bulk of the group, ensure you instill the importance of time management.

4. Showcase your enthusiasm

Charm and inspire guests before the tour kicks off, with your excitement for
what’s to come. And while this may not be your first time providing this tour,
trust that they will feed off your energy and excitement.

Picture yourself taking a moment to take in sweeping views or savour a tasty

treat while on a food tour. These moments of acknowledgement let your
guests know that they can carve out a few moments too.

5. Leave guests feeling inspired

You may already be a charismatic tour guide. Perhaps you’re delighting

travelers with your wild and wondrous stories. But there’s always room for
adding in a bit of variety into your daily routine and a fresh perspective for
how you deliver guided tours. When guests wrap up a tour, your goal is for
them to feel like they learned a little and had a lot of fun.

10 characteristics guests want in a tour guide

We’re all human and appreciate when people treat us with kindness and
respect. So, when it comes to tactics for tour guide commentary, here are a
handful of traits that guests look for in a tour guide:

1. A sense of humour

To deliver a compelling story, you may also have to be a funny tour guide.
Sometimes, the world can throw curveballs and we all appreciate a reason to
laugh.

You may find that funny, light-hearted stories will jive with almost any crowd.
Keen to inject some humour into your script? Just ensure it’s relevant to your
audience and relatable.

Remember to keep your audience in mind. Humour works best when it’s
done sparingly. Jokes used for millennial backpackers might not work on
retired cruise ship passengers.

2. Kindness

Pave the way for connecting with your guests by being kind enough to
initiate conversation and listen to what they have to share.

Some travelers appreciate being asked what they’re hoping to get out of their
experience and how far they’ve traveled to join in on your tour. Looking after
small details and paying attention is a thoughtful trait that guests appreciate.
3. A guide who’s good with kids

Little ones have feelings and thoughts during their travels. After all, the whole
world is new for them.

While it can be challenging to structure a tour for all ages, if you aim to be
inclusive, you’re destined to win minds and hearts. Look into opportunities to
highlight kid-specific topics and vantage points. Aim to schedule some pit
stops along the route to keep everyone comfortable and happy.

4. Open-mindedness

Have you ever heard of the golden rule? It may seem silly, but by treating
others how you would like to be treated, you help set the tone for how people
in your group will interact.

Plus, when you get to know people personally, this helps to heighten their
experience. After all, when guests book a tour they hope to be treated well.
Help guests feel more comfortable and consider what different travelers
might find interesting while on tour.

5. Informative storyteller

If you’ve been living in a region for some time, you probably have a wealth of
knowledge to share. Guests expect that you’ll be well-informed and willing to
share your local knowledge. Let’s say you’re looking at creative ways for how
to train a tour guide, it’s key to bring your local knowledge and storytelling
chops to the table.

6. Organized and punctual

Starting a tour on time is essential for every guest who made a point to be
punctual and ready for things to start. Sure, mishaps happen and people find
themselves in the wrong location. But as a general rule, you want to reward
the guests who are prepared, by starting your tours on time.

Try sticking to time limits set for exploring an area and visiting different points
of interest. In addition, guests hoping to make the most out of their trip will
appreciate a tour that starts and ends right on time.

7. Honesty

When guests book a tour, they put their faith in you to be direct and honest.
Deliver on the promise and try to keep things on track with what your tour is
supposed to include. Sometimes, it’s possible to get your facts wrong or not
know the answer.

Ask if your guests have read up on the area and whether they have the
answer. It’s not a bad idea to have a few key facts in your back pocket, so you
do have the answers most of the time.
8. Adaptability

As a tour guide, you’ll potentially come across bad weather, detours or chaos
from last minute changes. Being adaptable is all a part of the role. This is
where stories can keep your guests entertained if things go array.

The role of a tour guide is not without its challenges. You may have guests
joining a tour with no minimal idea of what to expect, only having booked
your tour because it was suggested to them. Keep things light and aim to be
helpful for all travellers. This is where your uncanny ability to shift multiple
hats is what makes you so good at your job.

9. Respectful

Sometimes, leading a tour may test your patience. You’ll find that respect can
go pretty far, even if you don’t speak the same language. You may have to
contend with late guests, irritated travelers and a wide array of personalities,
but it doesn’t mean you can’t deliver an amazing tour for all.

Tour guests may not know or understand all of the expected cultural norms.
Your role is to give travelers the benefit of the doubt, instead providing them
with the opportunity to learn something new. And always keep your cool and
remain respectful with tour guests.

10. Personality

Guests book tours with guides for a curated, hands-on and personalized
experience. So, if they choose to book a tour with you, aim to dazzle them with
your wealth of knowledge and personality.

Scan any negative online review and you’ll note descriptions like “cold,
indifferent, boring or selfish” amongst the bad reviews. If travellers were
looking for a generic experience, they could base a tour off a blog or seek out
something on an audio walking tour. Make sure your personal touch is
present throughout the tour.

Helpful things tips for your tour guide script:

• Focus on your guests: While it may be you doing the talking, your
guests will be giving a lot of feedback with non-verbal cues. Aim to say
just enough to keep them engaged and then move on.
• Forget the rules: focusing on them will only distract you. Make eye
contact. Be animated with hands. Get to the point. Speak slowly. These
will come naturally when you are more comfortable with public
speaking. Take your time and enjoy the company of your guests.
• Invest in the story: Before the tour, pay close attention to your
thoughts. Does the word can’t make a frequent appearance? If yes, it is
time to change up your inner monologue. To be a better storyteller, you
have to tell yourself you can. It seems like a cheesy exercise, but self-
confidence makes a world of a difference.
 • Create a set list: Have a few topics you know you’ll want to touch on
throughout the tour to help remind you of your tour guide script.
• Take notes: You will get better with practice, but only if you learn from
each attempt. Observe the audience’s reactions and write them down
afterwards (not during — that would be strange). Next time, change
your story up and repeat. Keep doing this until you know what details to
emphasize more and what parts to leave out.

How to make good commentary in tour guiding

There are two types of stories to tell on tour:

1. Fun, wacky or exciting stories about a place. Told at the location of the
site — either before or after listing relevant facts
2. And personal stories. Best reserved for the in-transit, awkward
moments of silence

For any location, there’s bound to be a large selection of stories to use on tour.
But how do you choose the right ones?

It is best to base your selection around topics you care about — whether this
happens to be architecture, food or history. Because when you are passionate
about a topic, you will be more enthusiastic in your storytelling. And if you are
excited to tell it, your listeners will be excited to hear it.

For your story collection, make a list of your own experiences. Some might be
funny — even if they weren’t at the time. And some might be shocking — like
you still can’t believe it happened to you. Out of all your stories, make sure
they are appropriate and relate to the tour in some way.

Closing tour guide script

While you’re wrapping up the tour, you’ll want to close the experience for your
guests.

Mention how you value guest feedback a few times throughout the tour. As
an example of what to include in your tour commentary, make a point to
share a point of interest that guests might not be able to find on their own.

Your closing tour guide commentary is also a great time to suggest other
places travelers should consider, including restaurant recommendations and
other tourist favourites.

And instead of telling guests that they should leave a 5-star review, which can
seem disingenuous, encourage your visitors to highlight what makes this
particular experience worth booking with an online review.
Final thoughts

Right from the beginning, invite guests into the storytelling experience of
your tour.

You don’t have to be the only one telling stories. Open up the floor and ask
the audience questions. One story has a way of breathing other stories into
life.

By giving your audience time to share, you might quickly come up with
another. Also, the tour will have a more conversational tone, making everyone,
including yourself, more relaxed. As a result, they’ll be more inclined to enjoy
the tour and provide you with good, honest feedback.

(taken from: https://www.checkfront.com/blog/tour-guide-storytelling)

Sample of Tour Guide Speech

(taken from https://uthman1978.wordpress.com/category/lessons/5-sample-tour-guide-speech/)