Tour guiding takes a lot of work. Guides need to do deep research, communicate ideas clearly, and organise complex experiences. Along with all of this, tour guides also need exceptional crowd control skills. You could be managing a small group through a city or a large group through an industrial site; either way, you need to be able to move the masses safely and efficiently.
Crowd control requires a mixture of spatial awareness, understanding group psychology and using the proper tools. This guide will explain these competencies and more, so you can master handling groups through expeditions.
Spatial awareness & “sand-in-a-bucket”
The tour guide needs to act as the “North Star” of the group, which makes the way they position their body massively important. The “sand-in-a-bucket” technique is a sure fire approach to properly filling a space. When you enter a space, go to a far wall, as this will encourage the group to fill the room gradually, much like sand in a bucket. This should help keep doorways, staircases and emergency exits from becoming bottlenecks.
Another good technique is to identify a tall, capable guest and appoint them to the back of a larger group, as they can act as a secondary tail-end guide.
Visual & body language techniques
Body language and clear visual cues can be almost as important as how you use your voice.
- Establish a rule that when you raise your hand, everyone has to be quiet and listen.
- Set a clear visual anchor that you can carry through crowds, such as a high-vis flag, bright tote bag or unique umbrella.
- Turn around completely if you want the group behind you to stop, doing a full 180-degree turn and making eye contact with your crowd.
Group psychology & dynamic controls
Group psychology plays a huge part in any tour guiding or crowd control services worth their salt. That’s why it’s important to frame rules around guest safety and ensuring enjoyment, rather than rigid restrictions on the experience.
Some principles to keep in mind including:
- Managing fast walkers quickly and directly, ensuring they don’t overtake everyone else.
- Similarly, handle laggers by pausing and waiting for them in silence. This should speed them up, but if they’re in any way mobility-challenged, just let it happen.
- Maintain solid gathering points throughout the tour to ensure people stay together.
Using audio guide technology as crowd control gear
There are all sorts of audio guide technologies that can be used as crowd control equipment in the tour guiding profession. One-way and two-way radio transmitters can be powerful tools for keeping people in line.
- Transmitters allow guides to keep moving while talking, ensuring people can listen and walk at their own pace.
- Audio systems also allow guests to spread out, rather than huddling around to hear a guide project, or even use a small PA.
- Using this technology allows guides to reduce their projection levels, allowing for more considerate, relaxing deliveries.
- Audio equipment can also be useful for giving cues for future instructions.
We have a massive range of different audio guide systems available on our website, perfect for any tour guide or company looking to enhance their crowd control capacity. If you’re interested in learning more about tour guiding overall, visit our blog today.