Profession guide: description, responsibilities, advantages and disadvantages, where they teach a guide

Guides are people who conduct excursions for tourists and the local population. Their well-paid work, filled with interesting points, is devoid of monotony and monotony. The profession of a guide, the description of which will be presented to your attention in this article, can be perfectly mastered only by one who has deep knowledge in the field of art, history and geography.

Job responsibilities

The main duties of the guides are as follows:

• Escort of tourists and providing them with informative information about the history of any attractions.
• Search and in-depth study of historical information.
• Program development and selection of excursion routes.
• Coordination of tourists during emergencies.
• Filling in the necessary documentation.
• The work of a translator.
• Control over the actions of the participants of the tour until its completion.

Representatives of the profession, the guide also introduces tourists to safety regulations and has the skills to provide first aid. They are obliged to answer any questions of the participants of the excursion that do not affect personal topics.

Requirements for Applicants

People who decide to connect their lives with this profession should have a whole set of business skills necessary for this.

• They must be proficient in one or more foreign languages.
• Have a higher education in the humanities and appropriate accreditation
• Quickly find a common language with people, be sociable
• It is good to know the topic of the chosen excursion.
• To possess knowledge from the field of cultural studies, regional studies, ethnography and other sciences.

Special Speech Requirements

Representatives of the profession, the guide must have the talent to express themselves correctly and articulate their thoughts clearly, because without mastering the art of speech it can be impossible for them to do their job at the proper level. The speech of people conducting various excursions must meet certain requirements, which are:

• Right. The guide must know the rules of pronunciation, accentuation, stylistics, use of words and their education.
• Clearness. He needs to clearly and clearly express his thoughts, not to resort to terms and words that complicate the information.
• The accuracy of information transfer. When conducting an excursion, you should not use words that have lost their semantic value.
• Expressiveness. A tour guide, in order to arouse increased interest among tourists, needs to resort to the help of epithets, allegories and metaphors.
• Purity (you can not use words that contradict the literary language).

Tour guides should also pay attention to the conciseness of their presentation. The use of extra words and phrases can significantly reduce the audience’s attention.

Necessary personal qualities

According to many theorists of excursion business, the guide should have the following personal qualities and characteristics.

• Great imagination and the ability to think in images. A good professional is able to describe an object not nearby so that tourists begin to imagine it in their imagination in reality.
• Tendentiousness. Guides, following the plan, are able to skillfully bring their point of view to the audience.
• The ability to instantly search for the right words and find a way out of non-standard situations.
• The desire to constantly improve their professional level.
• Good performance, physical and verbal endurance.
• Artistry and excellent memory.
• A sense of humor and others.

The characteristic features of the microclimate of the excursion often have a direct relationship with the temperament of the profession of a guide.

• Sanguine people are distinguished by their fast speech, mood swings, instant reaction to the actions of tourists.
• Hot-tempered and unbalanced choleric - a hasty presentation of the material.
• Slow phlegmatic - monotonous facial expressions.
• Sustainable melancholy - swings in an emotional state.

However, the emotions inherent in one or another temperament, professionals in their field are always able to keep under control.

Profession guide: where to study

There are times when people who graduate from a regular secondary school or special courses begin to work as guides on their own. However, they are usually observed in small towns, in which the qualifications of a representative of this profession do not attach particular importance.

If you want to become a professional and get a decent reward for your work, then you must go through the following stages of training.

1. It is necessary to graduate from the corresponding university (academy or institute of international tourism) and obtain a higher humanitarian education. In parallel, one should study foreign languages.
2. Having a diploma in hand, you can go to special continuing education courses, which operate at museums and universities.
3. Successfully passed an examination for aptitude and obtaining a license are the final stages of training a new guide.

Benefits of the profession

The advantages of the profession of a guide, of which there are many in it, are as follows:

• Representatives of this profession can independently plan excursion routes and adjust excursion programs. Their work is completely devoid of routine and boredom.
• They constantly meet and communicate with new people.
• They have the opportunity to travel and carry out their work outdoors.
• They constantly improve their knowledge of foreign languages.
• Guides work on a free schedule and receive a decent reward for their work.
• Representatives of this profession have a chance to open their own tourism business.

Cons of the profession

The profession of a guide also has its drawbacks, which are considered to be:

1. Long stay on your feet.
2. The need to carry out their work in all weather conditions.
3. Snacks on the "run" (very often guides have to spend their lunch time on solving organizational issues).
4. Responsibility for tourists.
5. The load on the vocal cords.
6. High competition.
7. Reduced earnings in the autumn and winter.

The prestige of the profession of a guide is directly related to the professional level of its representatives. However, its moral component does not automatically apply to each guide. The prestige of the personality, any representative of this profession conquers and constantly confirms his professional activities. The highest point in the career of a guide is considered to be the opening of their own excursion bureau or other business in the field of tourism.