forrest interpreter as_advocate
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Slides from the 'Interpreter as Advocate' workshop which was run as part of the Interpretation Australia National Symposium, Launceston, TAS, Nov 2010TRANSCRIPT
Interpretation Australia SymposiumNovember 2010
Presenter: Regan Forrest
Why are we here?
Some theoretical background
Barriers to visitor engagement
Taking a step out – learning from others
Stepping back in – using what we know already
Action Plan, discussion, follow-up reading
EVERYTHING you do is saying something to your visitors . . .
Welcome
aWareness
Walking your talk
PERSONAL SOCIO-CULTURAL
PHYSICAL
Contextual model of learning:
(Falk & Dierking 2000)
A word association exercise . . .
1. Not Maslow again!!!!! Where’s the door????
2. OK, yeah . . . let’s have another look
3. Maslow’s Pyramid? That’s not in Egypt is it?
Desperate for the loo 3yo twins acting upI’m lost
Sore feetDo I belong here? I’m hungry
I don’t ‘get’ itInformation
overload
INTERPRETIVE “ENLIGHTENMENT”
This coffee’s bad I’m not buying that cheap tat
Well I never knew that!
We’ve had a nice day
Sorry, I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to do that
What a rip-off!
Where is your ‘acceptability threshold?’
PhysicalConceptualVirtual
Do your services reflect visitor usage and needs, or internal management structures?
Retail and cateringExperience matching marketing materialSecurity vs Welcoming
Does your institution walk its mission ‘talk’?
Right idea (maybe); wrong audienceDiverting energy from what audience values (not always about doing MORE)
Are there well-meaning but misdirected efforts in your organisation?
Consider what barriers to audience engagement might exist in your organisation:
1. Barriers2. Inconsistencies3. Blind spots4. Misalignment5. Superfluous
services
Retailers are experts at communicating – both consciously and subconsciously – messages which support the buying experience. Some shoppers are novelty seekers, others like the reassurance of the familiar. Retailers need to accommodate both of these groups, or decide specifically to focus on a market niche. Retailers are increasingly drawing upon psychological and ethnographic research to enable them to design retail spaces in a way that maximises buying. Anything that makes the buying experience more difficult than it should be is removed or changed. Effort is expended in ways that maximise sales.
Interpreters are experts at communicating – both consciously and subconsciously – messages which support the learning experience. Some visitors are novelty seekers, others like the reassurance of the familiar. Interpreters need to accommodate both of these groups, or decide specifically to focus on anaudience niche. Interpreters are increasingly drawing upon psychological and ethnographic research to enable them to design interpretivespaces in a way that maximises learning. Anything that makes the learning experience more difficult than it should be is removed or changed. Effort is expended in ways that maximise engagement.
Customer focus at all levelsStaff empowerment at all levelsLeadership by exampleOngoing monitoring and improvementRemembering and rewarding loyaltyRespectful, communicative and responsive
Customer is not necessarily always right, but make sure they’re wrong with dignityIt’s not my fault, but it is my problem
Adaptation to new media and social networksCapturing imagination (but beware the deflation of ‘oversell’)Balance between listening and LEADERSHIP
What would need to change to address your institutional barriers?
WHO IS YOUR INTERNAL TARGET AUDIENCE?
In praise of the humble Post-it note…
Patterns emergeVoting, sortingDepersonalises ideasMore voices heard
An unfamiliar leisure activity with vaguely negative assumptions
Assess the experience mindfully:How do you start?Do you know what you need to know when you need it?Do you have ‘fitting in’ issues?Are your preconceptions unwarrantedTake-home messages for your own institution?
Alternative – “accompany a fan”
Change permission structuresBridge silosSignal to noise: (Disney toilets example)Walk a mile in my shoes
1. Challenge (Message)
2. Audience
3. Communication Plan
How could you apply interpretive techniques to create change in your organisation?
Influence beyond a position on an organisational chartChallenge permission structuresThe power to be brave; to fail; to succeed
How ideas gain momentumMavens, Connectors, Salesmen“Choice architecture”
Developing experience-based business modelsNew relationships with audiencesBeyond demographics to visitor motivation
Full of practical tips Case studies and examples of visitor participation (easily adapted to other scenarios)
Inspiring case studyJourney from vision to realityGood example of walking the talk
Creative business modelsAssessing your product / experience mix – does it match audience expectationsSpeaks the language of business
