Wider thoughts


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Guest Blog Erin Lloyd Jones writes about the recent A Way with Words course at Plas Tan y Bwlch, the Snowdonia National park Study centre and reflects on the power of words, bards and the Black Chair.


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Today Peter is in Sheffield talking to the Chartered Institute of Ecologists and Environmental Managers. He will say that communication skills should be seen as essential to the environmental profession. I wish I could be there; he was great in rehersal. This is the blog of the talk. He is talking to a group of professionals who care, usually passionately, […]


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A lot of our advice revolves around getting the ‘first five minutes’ right and giving a clear, concise introduction to what makes your place special. It can make all the difference to how, and whether, people remember it. This is particularly true for international visitors who may well have less background knowledge. When we arrived at […]


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Bushmills in Northern Ireland is a great example of using the streetscape to get people thinking and talking about heritage. As a result, it is a memorable and distinctive place to visit.


Hook Lighthouse – a beacon for guided tours

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Running really good guided tours at an attraction doesn’t happen by accident. It takes considerable time and attention to get it right. Like many things, when it is right, it looks so easy and effortless that most people will not see what is going on. Hook lighthouse runs really good tours that demonstrate the value […]


How blogging has helped our business

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I have been blogging seriously for over a year: is my 100th post. This blog began simply and seriously as a learning task. I am professional communicator, working in the field of heritage interpretation, in a UK-based business called TellTale. In 2011 we decided we had a choice – we could step into the stream […]


Making the most of a training opportunity; 5 more steps towards Santa Cruz

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I am still thrilled about the prospect of the “You can’t do that in Museums” Camp in Santa Cruz (see here for the background).  I think it is going to be amazing and great professional development.  My experience as a trainer suggests that I will be right. Over and over again, I have seen people […]


The road to Santa Cruz and Museum 2.0. Step 1

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For some time I have watched and read about Nina Simon and her work on The Participatory Museum, Museum 2.0 and Santa Cruz Museum. She is convinced that there is better, more vibrant, more social future for museums.  So am I,  and I extend that vision to a range of cultural and countryside places that […]


What can you do if it rains?

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It is always a problem to know what to do in these variable climates when it rains on your parade. At some time it will.  You have to have a Plan B. ‘Do not do to others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.’ George Bernard […]


Use stories to get people talking and spread your messages

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 Stories are vital to communicators because they are viral. They are contagious: they want to be passed on. That is how we recognize a story. People retell it. Stories get people talking. Putting our content onto stories codes it and helps people understand and repeat it. For people who communicate about heritage at museums and […]