How does an audio guide work?
And how can I create a tour? Selected practical examples and explanations.
Whether in a museum or for a city tour: an audio guide promises visitors exciting stories and background information on objects, places and biographies. As a tour guide and museum employee, however, you may ask yourself: How do you create an audio guide? We give practical tips and share our experience.
In order to develop a good audio guide, we need to clarify a few basic questions: For example, the target group, the mediation or interpretation approach, the structure, as well as the style.
First of all, we need to think about the target group for our audio tour. After all, it makes a difference whether we want to create an audio tour for children, adults or tourists. Perhaps a barrier-free tour for people with visual or hearing impair ments is also a good idea? In which languages would we like to offer the audio guide?
Museum Guides are usually aimed at a broad audience. The content takes into account the state of scientific knowledge, but presents the most relevant aspects and is prepared for a lay audience. References to the present and the reality of the listeners' lives as well as the famous "common thread" create relevance and understanding. Visitors appreciate understanding the perspective from which the communication takes place: For example, is a specialist with curatorial, restoration or architectural expertise speaking here? In any case, we recommend labeling personal interpretations as such.
Ideally, the design of the audio guide should be integrated into the exhibition process at an early stage. This not only ensures that there is enough time, but also that there are relevant links between the exhibition content and the content of the audio guide. Is one chapter per room planned or is it about selected highlights? Should it be a coherent "tour" or are fragments and objects in the foreground? Do we guide the visitors and give precise directions or do the listeners independently control which objects they address? Both are possible with Audio-Cult. A coherent guided tour and an object-related audio guide. The entire tour or individual works can be accessed via a QR code.
The audience expects a concise summary. We therefore recommend 90 seconds as a guideline for individual audio chapters. If it is not possible to shorten the texts, it is advisable to divide them into several audio tracks. The general introduction or larger contexts should also not exceed the time frame of 1.5 - 2 minutes. As a rule of thumb: 120 words correspond to about 60 seconds of audio.
Next, it is worth defining the narrative mode for the audio tour. People remember stories rather than information. This is not just about conveying information, but about storytelling and entertainment. Should the listeners be guided in a playful or documentary way? Does the narrative voice provide a subjective perspective? Should the personality shine through or do we want to strike a neutral tone? These stylistic questions naturally depend on our content, the defined target group and the narrative style. Incorporating music, soundscapes, quotes and original recordings also stimulates the listener's imagination. One thing is clear: an audio guide can be monologic and sober. But we can also develop dialogical elements or even a story with the character of a radio play. In any case, the script should allow for logical thought processes and associations. Ideally, there should be a central theme that we refer to again and again.
How do I create an audio guide? It's worth speaking sentences out loud during the writing process to ensure that listening comprehension is at the forefront right from the start. Here are a few selected practical tips and examples:
Active verb forms: provide clarity and dynamism - this enlivens the text.
❌ "The picture is being painted."
✅ "Picasso paints the picture."
Addressing the listener: stimulate them with questions and encourage them to think.
✅ "Look up - what do you see?"
✅ "What do you think - why did the artist copy the work?"
✅ "Why is the panda bear actually called a panda bear?"
Foreign words and technical terms: avoid or explain.
❌ "eloquent"
✅ "well-spoken".
❌ "ubiquitous",
✅ "widespread".
❌ "serendipity"
✅ "fortunate discovery".
Nouns: replace with active verb forms if possible.
❌ "registration for the tour takes place online"
✅ "register online for the tour"
Jumps of thought: avoid and ideally one statement per sentence.
Years: use sparingly and only when necessary or helpful.
Beginning of sentence: create logical links at the beginning of the sentence (therefore, thus, because,...)
Sentence length: reduce to a minimum. Ideally no more than 10-15 words.
Sentence structure: create variety through variations.
End of sentence: Main statements at the end of the sentence - so that what you have heard is remembered.
For questions and editorial support, contact Audio-Cult! We are happy to share our experience, best practice examples and guidelines for museum guides. We can also take on content work and production on request.
How are great audio experiences created?
