Premium
Improving Museum Docents' Communication Skills[Note 1. This research was presented as a poster at the ...]
Author(s) -
Meyer Susanna,
VenezianoKorzec Ann,
Larrivee Linda,
Stacy Katrina
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
curator: the museum journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.312
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 2151-6952
pISSN - 0011-3069
DOI - 10.1111/cura.12145
Subject(s) - visibility , communication skills , duration (music) , computer science , multimedia , psychology , medical education , medicine , art , physics , literature , optics
This article presents the results of a study evaluating a program to help museum docents improve accessibility for visitors with communication challenges (such as hearing, language and/or speech disorders). This was done by adapting docent presentations. The docents' speech patterns were evaluated before and after a training program, and showed significant improvements in the rate, duration, and use of pauses in their speech. There also was significant improvement in ensuring that view of their faces remained unobstructed—important for people with communication disorders—in order to facilitate the consistent visibility of their facial expressions and visual cues. The training was found to be effective in adjusting the docents' presentations so that the museum experience would be improved for visitors with communication challenges.