Being a Tour Guide is all about looks!

BRISBANE, Australia - July 26, 2014 - PRLog -- Have you ever looked across a crowded square or tourist area, seen a group of people and just been able to instantly pick out the Tour Guide or Tour Manager?

What was it about them that made them so instantly recognisable? The way they looked? The way they spoke? The way they carried themselves?

Knowledge, presentation, style and personality may all be important aspects of being a Tour Guide, but for that first meeting it's all about looks!

Sorry - I know that in this age of political correctness it should all be about content, but at the very start it's not. In those first couple of minutes - which incidentally are those very same minutes where people make up their minds about how good or bad a Tour Guide is going to be - it's all about the physical appearance of the Tour Guide.

After this sure, knowledge and charisma become a lot more important. But a good Tour Guide knows that 'looking the part' makes their job easier because it creates preconceived notions that the person up the front actually knows what they are doing (Oh if only they knew the truth!).

Ok, I get it. A Tour Guide needs to look good... But how?
The following information comes from How to be a tour guide: the essential training manual for tour managers and tour guides (http://www.thetourguidebook.com/).

Well the good news is that only a small part of looking good as Tour Guide or Tour Manager is how good looking you are. The major portion is how you are dressed and how you are groomed. Let's break it down into bullet points:

Dress Sense
Male Tour Guides should wear closed shoes, a collared shirt and slacks. The idea is to make a good first impression so if in doubt dress up rather than dress down. Female Tour Managers should do the same - a nice dress, pants and top combo or similar. Nothing too sexy, too tatty or showing too much cleavage (you want the attention on what you are saying ladies, not how you breathe!)
Feel free to modify for hot, cold or religious climates but always dress to impress at your first meeting - be a little bit more stylish than your clients.
As people get to know you and judge you based on your performance as a Tour Guide, presentation becomes less important. On the first day of a 30 day tour for example I myself would always dress up, but by day 20 I would be quite comfortable wearing nice shorts and a t-shirt.

A little Tour Manager secret here for you as well - carry a clipboard. Have you ever seen someone with a clipboard who wasn't important? Think about that for a second. It's like instant authority! As a Tour Manager or Tour Guide a clipboard will loan you lots of importance (and it's also a great place to hide your notes so you can reference them while walking if you need to). A good clipboard is also useful if you're in a new area because it helps people outside your tour (such as museum operators, ticket booth attendants etc) recognise you as a Tour Guide and take you more seriously.

Personal grooming
I can't believe I have to say this but...

Tour Guides should have neat, combed or styled hair (this includes nose hair for gents and underarms for girls!)
A good Tour Guide will always be freshly showered and scrubbed. No room for stinky people here!
Use deodorant, brush your teeth, your eyewear (if you wear glasses) should be in good condition and your finger nails and toe nails cleaned and trimmed.
A Tour Guide's best friend is breath mints! Seriously, it's hard to focus on what you're saying if you can't get past the rancid breath you're saying it with!
If you are the type that sweats a great deal then bring along an identical second shirt and a small deodorant for when you need to change.

Finally, don’t forget to smile when you first walk into a room. There have been a number of studies about what makes people attractive and one answer on every single list is smiling. The more you smile the more people will find you attractive and right or wrong, attractive people are trusted and respected more.

For more information check out my comprehensive training manual at www.thetourguidebook.com. If you'd like to view more videos in this series, you can check out How to be a Tour Guide's video channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAcQ9j5-TH9bmUtKIs7OT5Q).

This article may be republished provided it supplies a link back to www.thetourguidebook.com