The Tour Guide Basics

Around 20,000 students go to Ohio University...and most of them have one thing in common: they took a tour of the university by way of a tour guide.
I have been a tour guide now for 3+ years and have loved every second of it. Interacting with families, walking around campus and talking about the school I have grown to love.
But being a campus tour guide isn't easy. It takes a great knowledge of this university so that no question is left unanswered. That's why there is extensive training for all the tour guides, ranging from knowing how many campus organizations there are on campus to knowing all the ins and outs of the library. If we ever forget anything though. tour guides do have a great resource. For lack of a better name, it is simply called "The Book".

"The Book" has all the information on every major, every organization, every building, etc...It's pretty cool.
Another thing all tour guides need is awareness. This job is physically demanding already, thanks to the wonderful hills here in Athens. Then, doing it all while walking backwards makes it tougher. That's why every tour guide needs to be aware of their surroundings. For some, that means light posts and street signs. For others, that means puddles, curbs and people. The weather can complicate things as well. The last thing any tour guide wants is to have a car splash their group when walking along a sidewalk.

The final thing is the ability is to think quick and say things with a smile. Yes, knowing all the information is great but can you answer questions on a dime and always talk about OU in a positive light? This is where the best tour guides make their money. This week may be the toughest week of questions because of a certain Halloween celebration in the area. You might have heard of it. Anyways, questions can range from anything from best meal plans to smoke detectors to the amount of squirrels. It is these questions that really make the job fun for everyone.

So what is like to take a tour here at OU? Well, here's a slideshow of a typical tour. In person, it takes about an hour long. On a picture slideshow, it might take you 3 minutes. Of course, you don't get all the jokes, stories and squirrels that you would if really took a visit...but you at least get an idea of the route.

Next week, I'll post on the best stories from tour guides. We've seen a lot and heard a lot...and trust me, there is some funny stuff. After that, I'll blog about what we like to call "The Big Visit". So make sure you check in next week...and if you happen to stumble upon a Tour Guide, don't bother them for too long. They've got a very important job to do.