Tips for Writing a Good Tour

1) 200 words = 90 seconds of speaking

2) Use short sentences. Sequences of short sentences might look “un-academic” or even childish on the page, but they are much easier for listeners to follow.

3) Try to avoid starting sentences with a dependent clause. Complex sentences are better suited to written prose than spoken communication.

4) Orient the tour-taker by providing important visual information first. Then move from the specifics of the object/setting to the interpretive point that follows from that visual description.

5) Avoid arcane vocabulary and convoluted syntax. Use straightforward language.

6) Go easy on modifiers; three adjectives are not better than one and the adverb is almost never your friend.

7) Use dates sparingly; we recommend no more than one date per stop.

8) Avoid lengthy introductory disquisitions. Tour users want to see stuff not hear you! Be sure your first stop has an object!

9) For every object, try to answer these questions:

A) What does it look like?

B) What is it?

C) Why should I care?

D) Why look at this object on this particular tour?

Equipment for Podcasting

At the May workshop at John Jay, a number of the participants asked about what equipment they would need to start making their own podcasts. This post aims to answer those questions.

Recording directly to your computer is easier and produces a cleaner sound than recording to tape and then digitizing the material.

So, you will need a mic that plugs directly into your computer's USB port.

There are any number of such mics on the market, but I like the one pictured to the left, the CAD U1 USB Dynamic Recording Microphone available on Amazon for under $40. It has a built in "pop filter" (aka, "spit shield") the does a reasonable but not great job of eliminating the annoying pops that come the pronunciation of aspirated plosives (such as the first 'p' in the English word "popping").

Because, however, the pop filter is integrated into the mic, it can sometimes transmit vibrations to mic. A somewhat better, but decidedly more expensive solution is to buy a separate mic and pop filter. There are any number of these available, the one below one can also be purchased on Amazon.

If you purchase a separate mic and pop filter, you will want to make sure that you get a "unidirectional" mic. Unidirectional mics are sensitive to sounds from only one direction, and so are less likely to pick up ambient sounds than, you guessed it, "omnidirectional" mics.

You might also want to purchase a stand for your mic.

The goal of the mic stand is to insulate the mic from vibrations and, hence, distortions in the recording.