Speaking Up on a Venue Tour

Five key elements that can help every participant have a positive, memorable experience with a venue tour.

Project managers, architects, general contractors and the like often take a group through a venue prior to the project being complete. A review of the printed plans where cable runs will be placed, electrical outlets, pillars and the like are all reviewed throughout the venue while under construction. As the new venue is being built, there are other visitors coming from the community: VIPs, potential clients and partners. Whoever is visiting the venue, these walk-throughs can be an unforgettable experience.

To help participants get the most out of their visit and to make sure they have a positive tour experience, the walk-through needs to be planned, coordinated and executed in a way that everyone in the group can see and hear about the amazing things the venue will soon offer.

Below are five key elements that can help every participant have a positive, memorable experience.

• Ensure that everyone can hear every word from the tour guide. Venues under construction can be loud. If the participants can’t hear, they will walk away with little more than a headache. An excellent solution for mobile groups is a Portable RF system from Listen Technologies: http://bit.ly/LTManufacturing. A wireless microphone/transmitter broadcasts the speaker’s voice to the tour audience. People on the walkthrough have a personal receiver where they can adjust the volume control to suit their own needs. Gone are the days when a person in the back of the group is frustrated because she can’t hear the tantalizing commentary over the hum of construction.
• Plan the best route. A meandering route through the venue innards usually isn’t enough for a knock-out tour. The route the tour takes should be long enough to show off the amazing venue and other interesting areas of the facility but not too long to get monotonous. The tour should also include, but never interfere with, contractors as they busily engage in their activities.
• Write a Script. Some tours are replete with quips, jokes and other such wisecracks, while other tours, particularly those given to current or potential clients and customers, take on more of a serious or impressive tone. Whatever the intention of the audience, a tour should never be conducted off the hip. The tour guide should be well versed on every aspect of the facility.
• “Right-size” the tour for the audience. Some tours are short and others can be relatively long. Regardless of the length of the tour, it is important to ensure the message fits the audience. Tours give the opportunity to impress guests with a behind-the-scenes look at the construction process, the mission and culture, and interesting facts and tidbits all making for a memorable visit.