THE HERITAGE YOUTH

AMBASSADOR
PROGRAMME
How to tell a

?
hey

Story

PUBLIC SPEAKING AT HERITAGE SITES

Narrating anecdotal information at a heritage site is

a bit like play acting . You have a live audience listening

attentively to you and you have a good story to tell .

Now the challenge is how do you tell well and in an

interesting manner . ’
Let s break this up into five

broad categories .
Body language

Where to stand when you tell your story :

Always stand with your back to the structure that you are talking about .
Your audience needs to be able to see , at all times . You are familiar with

it , the audience needs to see . Stand at a height , wherever possible . So

that everyone can see you .

ALWAYS MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT . ’
Don t shy away from looking at

people .
Use your hands and body freely to express

Rehearse your story , be familiar with your story , rehearse it in front of a

mirror till your perfect it .

Oratory must be paperless , so you never have to look away from your

audience .
 Voice

Modulation
hi all

Your voice is your most powerful tool . As you heard during the

Dastan - Goi . So use it dramatically . Of course this requires

training but make a beginning and you will perfect it soon .

Dramatize your story to ensure that you create a feeling , a

sense of the past . You need to take your audience into the

world that you are narrating .

Use varied tones , ’
but don t overact . It is a narrative and over

dramatization can get a little overwhelming .

 The Narrative

Build your narrative based on facts , research , anecdotal

information , oral histories . For this you need research . You also

need to interview people ( as you have done through the previous

activities ) to collect oral histories .

Make sure your research is thorough . Visit archives , libraries ,
read books on the subject . DO NOT rely on Wikipedia and google

only , as they do not help you connect the dots .

Keep adding to your narrative . It is not frozen in time . With

experience , the questions people ask , keep enriching your story .

First person accounts are very critical as they have a short lived

life . Use them as much as you can . ’

That s your USP .
 Power of Silence

Most importantly , when you are on site , use silence . Allow

people to observe , internalize and absorb the spaces .

Afterall these are structures that are 100’ s of years .
old They

too have their stories to tell , if only we listen .

Tell people how to read into architecture .Design , quality of

stone and time period .

 Writing a story

When you write a narrative of any one stop where you will talk to

people , remember you need a script .

Humour and good language is a must .
Use correct vocabulary , as you have been taught .
Write it for yourself using all your inputs . Then memorize it and

tell it to the audience .

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF AS

YOU TELL A STORY

1. How am I standing ?
2. Can everyone see me ?
3. Am I smiling pleasantly .
4. It may be your 150 th time telling the story but for

’
the listener it s the 1
st time . So always keep it

looking new .
5. ’
Don t get bored with your own narrative .
6. Always be well dressed , neat , wearing clean

clothes .
7. Hair combed
8.Keep your phone silent

9.Be considerate to your guest .

10. Do they need anything ?
11. Make the visit fun for them

12. .
Show them things they may not notice on their own A part of a

monument or a design they may have missed .

13. Tell them the story behind it which you would have

perfected

14. ’
Ensure that they don t spoil any structure .
15. Dissuade them from climbing onto the building to take

photographs .
16. Teach them to protect and respect monuments

17. Never to write on stone nor touch it with your palm .

18. Allow them time to understand the space .
19. Tell them where are the public conveniences .
20. Address different age groups differently . A child needs a different

approach from an elderly person .

21. For eg . If there are more elderly , you may need to speak loudly . If

there are more children you need to draw their attention to designs

lower down in the monument .

22. Allow your guests to relax and take a break during their visit Give .
.
Water and tea breaks wherever possible Allow one to enjoy the day .
23. Your information must never be only what is available on google If it .
, ’ . ’
is then you re not needed That s where your oral histories your ,
,
research your ways of telling the story and all your training comes in .
24. ,
Stay updated about which days what is closed routes access to a ,
, , ,
site entry gates ticket prices transport available etc .
25. ,
Always celebrate your heritage and tell a proud story based on ,
. .
your research Never adulterate this research Stick to archival

authentic information .
26. ’ , .
If you don t know something say I will find out and let you know

27. .
Introduce yourself by name Its good to have a connect with your

audience .
28. .
Always read up information connected to your topic in your free time

29. .
Be very sure of your source of study It must be authentic .
30. Rise above the ordinary .