Tour guiding in small groups is all well and good without equipment. With some projection and a healthy dose of personality, you can connect with your guests while you take them through the sights and sounds of the tour. However, larger tour groups and free-roaming setups call for assistive listening equipment.
Having assistive listening and communication devices is vital, as they allow you to keep your guests informed and answer questions, even if they’d usually be out of earshot. This article will break down some of the most essential pieces of equipment, so you can equip your site, tour guiding staff or yourself with the tech needed to thrive.
Two-way communications for interactive tours
Being able to answer questions and queries is key to creating a truly immersive tour guiding experience. That’s why you should invest in some conference audio equipment for medium-sized groups. Some functions to keep an eye out for include:
- Talk back control, meaning you can control who speaks at one time, ensuring the tour stays focused and engaging.
- License-free frequencies, such as 1,9 GHz, make devices legal for transmission in every setting or country.
One-way tour guide systems for larger groups
Leading a group of 20 or more can make interactions a little too chaotic, which is where one-way systems become more effective. A one-way assistive listening system ensures you keep control of the flow of information, without having to negotiate between different questioners or requests.
Audio guide equipment for self-guided tour segments
Tours don’t always have to be entirely dictated by the will of the guide themselves. Many sites, such as museums or heritage sites, benefit from giving the guests some free roaming time, while still having access to curated information. These generally come in the form of wand-style or keypad devices that can be preprogrammed for different languages, with massive battery lives for convenience.
It’s worth noting that you can also use tools like ListenEVERYWHERE, which is an app that guests can use to connect to assistive listening via their own smartphone and headphones. These are great for lightweight touring, eliminating the need to carry tens of receivers, while also enhancing tour group hygiene.
Special considerations
It’s not enough to buy some receivers and transmitters in many cases. Tour guides need to ensure that the systems they employ are suited for the tour situation at hand.
- Noise-cancelling headphones are perfect for louder settings, like factories or city centres.
- Ear-hook speakers can be more hygienic than in-ear buds for guests.
- Charging carry cases, rack-mount or peli-style charging cases make on-the-go charging a lot easier and smoother.
Where to find the right assistive listening equipment
If you’re interested in getting some conference or assistive listening tech for your tours, visit Tourguide Systems today. We have a massive range of devices and system options available for purchase and full-service hire, ensuring you can organise the experiences that you want to provide to your guests.
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