Starting Out on the Right Foot
In the nature and cultural heritage sectors, evaluation is a dying art. Here’s how to do a basic front-end evaluation and use it to create better visitor experiences.
Build a Better Brainstorm
Are your creative workshops not producing the kind of brilliance you need? Try imposing tighter creative constraints.
Structuring an Interpretive Program
I have seen a lot of interpretive programs in my career. I mean, a lot. I started supervising seasonal interpreters in 1988; I stayed in the supervisor/manager role until about 2008, and then did program assessment as a consultant. I’ve seen… a lot of programs. I have no major horror stories to tell you. (OK …
Interpreters, we need to talk about AI
If you’re not worried about what artificial intelligence means to our profession, you’re probably not paying attention. When I was a kid, computers were still largely the stuff of science fiction. And in those days we used to dream of how much better our lives would be when we had them. My science-nerdy friends and …
The Myth of Two-way Interpretation
It’s only two-way if you’re actually listening to what they tell you.
When to do Consultation in Heritage Tourism
When in doubt, consult. Trust me on this one.
The Fine Art of Firing Volunteers
Yes, firing volunteers is a thing. No, you shouldn’t do it lightly. I have had the pleasure of working with volunteers in a few different capacities. I have managed volunteers in the public sector and in the nonprofit sector. I have worked in places where volunteers were treated like high-maintenance guests, and I have worked …
Diversification is hard. Here’s how to strategize.
As a visitor experience planner, market analysis is part of what I do. That is to say, I help parks, museums, aquariums, zoos, and historic sites to identify who their visitors are, and who their visitors might be in the future. And I help them figure out how to reach out to them and how …
Read more “Diversification is hard. Here’s how to strategize.”
Social Media: A Method to the Madness
If you are a manager in the cultural or natural history sector, you’ve probably got staff madly working on social media. Maybe you’re a social media person yourself. And if you are, you know it’s busy and challenging work. As a visitor experience advisor, I’m often asked to help put social media in the greater …
It’s Time to End the March Madness
A Tale of Two Contracts It’s April 1st, the start of a brand-new fiscal year, and Avril and Mavis, two project managers in a government agency, are hard at work. They’ve just wrapped their fiscal year end and are already moving forward on projects that were identified months ago in strategic planning. They’re excited about …