Recommended
Pre-requisite: Foundations of Interpretation
(formerly Module 101)
Competency
Description
Informal visitor contacts provide essential customer
service in a wide variety of settings and circumstances,
from front desk and fee booth to foot trails and front
office. While these contacts are indeed informal and
spontaneous, they still require considerable knowledge,
forethought and preparation in order to meet audience
needs and address park and NPS goals. This competency
requires park interpreters to continually assess visitor
needs and demonstrate effective customer service by
providing basic or in-depth information, and/or interpretation
to meet those needs. Whenever possible, interpreters
strive to facilitate opportunities for the audience
to form their own intellectual and emotional connections
to resource meanings, but consciously extend each contact
only as far as is appropriate based on visitor cues
and responses.
Competency
Standard
All Interpreters
Consistently provide high quality customer service
through application of audience knowledge, resource
knowledge, and appropriate techniques.
Consistently provide high quality customer service
by presenting a professional image, demonstrating
professional behavior, and applying effective interpersonal
communication skills.
Continually observe visitor cues and responses,
assesses needs, and evaluates options to guide the
progression of each contact.
Understand the difference between information,
orientation and interpretation, and when, why and
how to move from one to the other.
When appropriate, link tangible resources to intangible
meanings using appropriate techniques in order to
facilitate opportunities for the audience to form
their own intellectual and emotional connections
to resource meanings.
Continually self-assess -- analyzes and articulates
if, when and how an interpretive process or methodology
can be applied in informal encounters.
Training
and Development Opportunities
A new NPS-developed on-line course in Informal Visitor Contacts is available at http://www.parktraining.org.