Be direct and frank. Focus on uniqueness.Go slow.In Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, authors James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II present an exceptionally thought-provoking and example-studded discussion about the "appeal of the real" in the current consumer-driven market. The premise here is that consumers, "no longer content just with available, affordable, and excellent offerings," purchase goods and experiences that reflect their self-image - or the image they want to portray to the world....
One simple truth I've gleaned over my two decades of working with docents and tour guides is that good tours are memorable and the bad ones are never forgotten.To help my docents remember the elements of good public speaking and to avoid the pitfalls, I've developed a list of docent do's and don'ts. For backup, I would normally reach for The Good Guide which has long been my "go to" publication for all docent-related questions,...
The HRC thanks Julia Baldini, museum educator at the Windsor Historical Society and steering committee member for the Connecticut Museum Educator Roundtable, for serving as guest author for the following entry. With each passing year, more and more museums are evaluating and increasing the roles museum educators and education departments play in the overall mission of the museum. Colleges and universities offer degrees and certificates in museum education and museum educators are expanding their workload...
Many of you may follow Reach Advisors' blog, Museum Audience Insight (discussed in a recent HRC post by Liz Shapiro). The blog provides information about audience, cutting edge techniques for marketing and audience development, and trends we should know more about. Susie Wilkening and James Chung have now taken the results of their on-going research into the museum visitor and produced a lively, easy to read book that delves more deeply into some of their...
Hi everyone and greetings from the 2009 AASLH Annual Conference in Indianapolis. More info to come from the conference later today, but I wanted to let everyone know that the HRC has taken advantage of the conference sale special--50% off all Altimira publications--and has just added some great new titles to the HRC Library. These books will be available for CT museums to borrow from the HRC on September 1: The Museum Educator's Manual: Educators...
