STRONGBRANDS    Professor Tim Calkins, Kellogg School of Management

I’m teaching in Europe this month; I was in Copenhagen last week and will be in Italy for the next few days.

I had some open time in Milan, so I signed up for a free walking tour. I always love these because they attract an interesting group of people, and the guides have a big incentive to do a quality tour. A weak guide won’t last long in the industry.

Marco, the guide from Citywalkers, delivered a fabulous tour. He was funny, informative and energetic. On the tour, I learned a lot about Milan, but also about presenting and teaching. There were some great lessons to start the new academic year.

Here are few of my takeaways:

Names

At our first tour stop, Marco shocked the group by referring to a few of the participants by name. He called out Cindy, from Phoenix, and Guy, from France.

Throughout the tour, he would use people’s names, whether that was Peter from the UK or Bob from Orlando. This made everyone feel connected and impressed, thinking, “Amazing, he remembers everyone’s name!”

Now I suspect Marco remembers just three or four names and drops them in periodically. Still, it was impressive.

Learn About Your Audience

At the start of the tour, Marco checked everyone in. He greeted them enthusiastically, “Chicago is my favorite city in the U.S.!” He then asked questions “Where are you from? How big is your group?” He wrote down the answers.

By doing this, Marco was gathering the information he needed, learning certain names. He also made people feel that they were noticed and counted. This kept them with the tour.

Set Expectations

Marco did a great job setting expectations. Early on he explained that while this was a walking tour, we wouldn’t be walking that much. Later, he asked if people were tired and noted that there were just three more stops, and one would be brief. This kept people with the group; virtually everyone finished the tour.

Address the Concerns

It was quickly apparent that this was going to be a big tour, maybe thirty people. This gave everyone pause. Marco was quick to respond, noting that he had led much larger tours and that it actually was a good thing: “I do my best tours with bigger groups!”

Bring Energy and Enthusiasm

Marco radiated energy. He spoke and moved quickly. His body constantly seemed tense, almost ready to spring. This pulled people into the tour. He also never checked his phone and never appeared bored.

My highlight was near the end where Marco observed, “I love talking about Milan but there is so much history. If I ran the company, I would make it a 16-hour walking tour.”

Gently Enforce Discipline

Marco ran a tight ship. When someone started smoking, he quickly addressed it, “I’m a smoker, too, but this is a non-smoking tour.” When two people had a side conversation he stopped talking and waited. It didn’t happen again. If someone drifted away from the group, he would call them out, “Maria, are you with us?”

By forcing people to pay attention and focus, Marco ensured the tour was positive for everyone.

Make It Special

At one point on the tour, Marco started singing. I can’t recall precisely why, but after he finished, he bowed and said, “Wow, I think that was my best singing ever!” We all cheered again and loved feeling like we were on a unique and special tour.

Have Fun

Marco seemed to be having fun. He appeared to love Milan and was lucky to be giving a tour. This made everyone feel good about the production.

Did he really enjoy giving that tour? I wonder. It was probably his 107^th time, and exhausting. I wandered back later to ask a question and saw him having a smoke, checking his phone, looking drained. I didn’t bother him.

There is magic in making things appear fun, even when you might not be having fun. Great performers like Marco do this. We all want to feel like the people we are with are having fun.

Communication is difficult. It is all too easy to focus on the facts, delivering them in a dull fashion. The challenge is making things interesting and engaging.

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