Company tour cheat sheet

Leading a tour
My name is Gabrielle and I am going to give you a tour of the facilities here at Lion’s Lair. The tour
will last about thirty minutes – Informing participants about what they will be doing and how long it
will take will put them at ease.

If you would like to follow me, we can begin the tour – Using “If you would like to follow me” is better
here than “follow me” which can be considered as rude.

If you look behind me now, you will see the robotic automation facility – Saying, “If you look behind
me” is more polite than the simple “Look behind me”. Avoid using “left” and “right” as you will
sometimes be facing the participants and the directions will be inversed. It is better to use the
cardinal points of a compass as in “If you look east, you will see the control tower.”

Participating in a tour

Excuse me, (pause) could you tell me what the blue building behind you is? – By pausing after you say
“Excuse me”, you are more likely to have the full attention of the tour-giver as well as other
participants. Also, using “could you tell me” is more polite than “tell me”.

I couldn’t help but notice that there are no workers in the factory. Is it fully automated? – The
expression “I couldn’t help but notice” is a useful way of saying that you are surprised by something.

Excuse me, I missed what you said there. Would you mind repeating it? – It is often difficult to hear
what is being said during a tour so this is a key expression to learn.

Concluding a tour

Well, that concludes our tour. I hope you have enjoyed it and found it interesting. If you have any
further questions, I will be available to answer them now – This a better way than simply saying that
the tour is over as it allows the more timid participants to ask you one-on-one questions that they
may have been too shy to ask in front of a group.

On behalf of Lion’s Lair, I would like to thank you for your time today – “On behalf of” is a useful
expression that means that you are speaking for an institution and not only for yourself.

Tricky verbs

You may hear some verb phrases that confuse you during company tours:

Head to – This is simply a way of saying that you are going to go somewhere. “I’m heading to the
shop. Do you want something?”

Pencil in – If you pencil something in, it means that you will write it in your diary but it is not
confirmed. “I will pencil you in for next Friday but I’ll call tomorrow to confirm.”

Press on – To “press on” or “press on with something” means to keep going with something due to
time constraints. “We have to press on I’m afraid as the building closes at 4pm.”