Imagine you are in the center of attention, where everyone sees you as their only hope to listen, to understand, to receive instruction, to gain knowledge and to be their closest friend during their holiday trip!
Your dress code, your smile, your sense of humour, your clear voice, your attitude and every words coming from your mouth is being listened to and evaluated. If you have got all that prepared, then you are ready to disseminate your information to them. Think again, are you ready? If you are not, it means that you have not studied what information you are supposed to deliver. Therefore, it is vital to check who are your customers first, what itinerary they have, how many pax, who is the tour leader, where they come from and why are they here. Study that first!
Psychological plays and important role. Don’t look rushing. Be cool, look confident and smile a lot. Make them welcome. Make them think that you are an important person, and make sure you possess an approachable attitude.
When performing a coach delivery, you have to decide the places or items you are giving the information and select the categories are as follows :
- History – dominant history info
- Culture – dominant culture info
- Place of Interest – detailed place info
- Travel Trade – anything which is not categorized in 1-3, eg : food, gamat
Other than explaining the places or items based on the above categories, you also need to explain what activities can be carried out there, the visiting hours, ticket prices, facilities available and remind them the do’s and dont’s of each place.
Nothing is more entertaining than a story telling. Remember story telling has facts and figures. And it may have history too. Do not lie about what you are telling, because someone in the coach may be an expert, without you knowing it.
Prepare your opening speech, eg : ‘Welcome to Langkawi.. I’m so pleased to be with you for the next 3 days. My name is…. but you can just call me….’
Tell them what is the overall itinerary for the day. Explain in brief all the places they will visit. Explain time to spend at each place. Create excitement. Perhaps one of the places to visit shall be the VISIT OF THE DAY!
Before they reach a destination, it is best to briefly explain about the place they will visit. This is where your story line plays the most important part. You must deliver an exciting explanation about the place, the history (if relevant), or a beautiful story relating to the place of interest.. that can make them feel the excitement, or feel the sadness, and finally the whole reason why they should visit this place. You can even relate your personal experience, or experience from the previous tourists, the important dates such as the initial date of opening, important people who have been there etc. There are so much to tell, but you should select what to tell them. You need to explain the entrance ticket fees, the do’s and don’ts (if relevant), opening hours, thing to do there etc… and definitely you have to remind them of safety measures, eg ‘make sure your handbag is placed at your front or by the side, not at the back.. etc’
Time of delivery has a limit. People will not be interested with a lengthy story of over 20 minutes, because they also want to enjoy the scenery along the trip.
Your delivery needs a short closing. Check your time, look at them.. if they are starting to look outside the windows, then you know it is time to stop talking.
Remember, they look at you as the master who knows about the place. So, please be interesting and don’t be boring!
GOOD LUCK
