The Vatican Museum in Rome audio tour has a robot voice and I don’t like that. After 10 seconds, I just read the written description provided for each of the exhibits. The more conversational dialogue, such as, “And this is where we bid you a farewell, hoping you enjoyed this trip together! See you soon!” (ESN Italia) sounds awkward when it is spoken in a voice that is not human. The Art of Museum Exhibitions highlights the importance of a museum having a narrative. It says, “In other words, storytelling, or the narrative mode of thought, is about both the storyteller and the listener (or viewer or visitor). Narrative stimulates personal interpretation; the person watching the film, reading the book, or experiencing the exhibition is engaged in his own kind of internal dialogue with the story,” (Bedford 59). Listening to a voice void of voice fluctuations, tone, pauses, attitude, or even an accent made it difficult to feel engaged and connected with the dialogue presented. In addition to having a human say the dialogue for the audio I also have two other suggestions for giving audio tours, specifically the audio tour for the Zuckerman Museum of Art (ZMA), captivating storytelling qualities:
An engaging beginning and end
Every good story I have experienced, whether through a film or a novel, has had a great beginning and end. For example, in the movie Nope, I was instantly drawn into the film when the movie opened with the eerie and hypnotic tarp-like and other-worldly creature later nicknamed Jean Jacket, and at the end of the film I was on the edge of my seat with the audio and visuals presented during the action-packed conclusion. The audio tour is not a horror movie, obviously, but I think it should still have the same immersive qualities as a film. For example, the audio tour could begin or end with a relevant song, pun, or a brief story before or after diving into the more content-heavy information presented.
2. Repetition
Part of the mission of the ZMA stated on the website says, “In keeping with the University's mission of teaching, research, and service, the Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art (ZMA) serves as a vital academic resource and cultural focus for students, faculty and members of the community and seeks to exhibit, collect, preserve, and interpret significant works of art,” (Kennesaw State University). To support this statement, the ZMA audio tour should continuously reference the Kennesaw State University student and faculty culture as well as the surrounding culture. Not only will repeatedly referencing tidbits about the various cultures nail down the mission of the museum, but it will also make people feel represented and in turn more engaged.
Giving the audio tour a story and a human voice while promoting the mission of the museum at the same will most likely get people to come back. Whenever I read a book with vivid imagery, watched a TV show with a character where it felt like I was looking in the mirror, or went to a museum with a funny tour guide, I always wanted to come back for more and with some of the previous suggestions I believe the audio tour could have that same effect.
Works Cited
Bedford, Leslie. The Art of Museum Exhibitions. Left Coast Pr., 2014.
ESN Italia. “Musei Vaticani ICE 2022: ENG.” Izi.TRAVEL, 2022, https://www.izi.travel/en/10c9-musei-vaticani-ice-2022-eng/en#a43d-introduction/en.
Kennesaw State University. “Zuckerman Museum of Art.” Kennesaw State University, https://www.kennesaw.edu/arts/zuckerman/about/index.php.
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