• Share a “big idea” when entering a room, and then give time to explore a room at their own pace

• Use phrases to describe an object or artifact, like, “what you are seeing is…”

• Use your body to communicate (i.e., point at the object you are speaking about)

• “Let them lead.” Ask the visitor what they see in the room so you can provide background and explanation

• Demonstrate how someone from the 18th century would use objects or complete a task

• Speak slowly, clearly, use visual aids, look people in the eye, use hand gestures

• Encourage people to stand close to you in order to hear clearly

• Explain what items look like

• Explain any potential challenges (i.e., stairs or low ceilings) during the tour ahead of time.

• For outdoor activities, remember that it may be difficult to navigate over grass or gravel for people who have canes or wheelchairs

• Think about a gathering location that is interesting and easily accessible for anyone who isn’t able to get up stairs, etc.

• Use simple terms

• Explain complex terms when appropriate

• If possible, have visitors handle an object as you explain its importance

Kathy Ormosi, Abraham Staats House: That depends: do you want to research the people, events, architecture connected to the House? Are you interested in the military connection? The family history? Some general sources of info: The NJ State and National Historic Registries; librarians can help narrow down your research interest area and help you find authors who have addressed the topics you are interested in; for houses that have gone though a Historic Structure Report process, that document provides a lot of info.

Cindy B., Van Horne House: Docents will gain years of history success and failures. Don’t take all you read online as fact. The Heritage Trail Association will not run a program, tour, or event without spending at least 1 year researching it and writing. Make sure you dig more and cross reference what you find. For example, Betsy Ross never made a flag in her life!

Kathy Faulks, Abraham Staats House: A Historic Structures Report, Archaeological Study reports, and Furnishings Plan are all available through the Friends of Abraham Staats House. You can just email info@staatshouse.org to request it.

Marge Sullivan, Van Horne House: A good resource is The Continental Army Comes Into Its Own: The Middlebrook Cantonment of 1778-1779

Olinda Young, Van Veghten House: The Somerset County Historical Society has several archival boxes of collected material about family and property that you could review.

Kathy Faulks, Abraham Staats House: We see both. Those returning love to share their past visits and exclaim how much the restoration has improved the house.

Cindy Blumenkrantz, Van Horne House: We see our ‘regulars’ during Weekend Journey and also at our Symposia or when we host a favorite author. We also offer private tours, private events, and special events. Some are driving through and may be one or two people or a family. And at times, we have given tours to large groups like the Rutgers Women’s History Group. We had lunch for them, designed a program they wanted and dance lesson. We design events for our group in those cases. At times when we are preparing, some passers by come and ask for a tour. We generally oblige.

Kathy Ormosi, Abraham Staats House: We have both; our events draw new visitors -- families, history buffs, couples, locals who are curious, out of towners looking for something to do, and many others, generally drawn to a specific event, but we also get emailed requests for tours.

Marge Sullivan, Van Horne House: Mixed. Some come to all lectures, others to just to the Revolutionary War related events, for example. People who enjoy the Five Generals Bus Tour sometimes come back with friends or family.

Olinda Young, Van Veghten House: We see several categories of visitors.

• Organized tours like the Five Generals Bus Tour

• Drop ins tend to be first timers or repeats with family/friends.

• Occasional out of state visitors doing genealogy or visiting family roots.

• Generally curious who saw something about us on the internet.

• Weekend Journey explorers.

• Passersby who noticed we were open.

• "Regulars" tend to turn into members or are locals doing research on a particular topic. (For example, the man who created the Pluckemin Artillery School model at Vanderveer House did research with us.)

Kathy Faulks, Abraham Staats House: I recommend that you answer the person fully and then ask the group if anyone else has questions to try to include everyone

Cindy Blumenkrantz, Van Horne House: Docents are never alone, a more experienced docent will often attract the persons attention pulling them off the group to an interesting item, story. If that doesn’t work, the next steps depends on the situation or person. It RARELY happens but we cover all scenarios in our ‘practice’ runs.

Kathy Ormosi, Abraham Staats House: Everyone has their own style, but personally, I listen to what visitors have to say ... and most just want to add a thought or two to the tour "subject" at hand, but on the rare occasion that someone might be derailing the tour by any of those reasons noted in the question, I will interrupt by saying something, like "That's very interesting. Let's talk about that after the tour; but let's move on, so that we can be respectful of the group's time." OR, if it is just one person, I'll do a variation on moving "out" of the conversation, like nodding, and yet moving into the next space.

Marge Sullivan, Van Horne House: Be polite but try to deflect by asking them to wait til the end for detailed response. Or, that the question will be referred to the site manager . Give answers to whole group rather than focus on the questioner alone. Tell disruptive person politely that they should direct complaints or criticisms to the site manager.

Olinda Young, Van Veghten House: Tricky. Check the body language of the rest of the group. Are they engaged? What is the time expectation for the group? Did you ask before you started? What's the "argumentative" about? Remember interpretations vary. Is their point based on misinformation you can correct? If not do you need more info? It's ok to admit "That's interesting", " I 'm not aware of that" Break Eye contact . Look at rest of group and ask, " Shall we move on?" After the tour, you can touch base with the visitor to follow-up and make it clear you value their insight, suggest other research, and ask for their suggestions for research.

Kathy Faulks, Abraham Staats House: Ask the individual the best way to communicate with them.

Cindy Blumenkrantz, Van Horne House: Any group coming in will have given their issues to give Heritage Trail Association time to prepare what the guests need. We have written placards, documents, video, wheelchair/ walker access, we also have a new board member who is wheelchair bound and is helping us update our accessibility. We are getting a small translator system to try out for languages and hope it works. We have never had guests who spoke a different language that didn’t know English.

Kathy Ormosi, Abraham Staats House: A new docent will always have one of us nearby to "lean on" if needed for help and guidance. In that situation, I think the best thing is to simply ask the person how you can best communicate information. For hearing impairment, depending on severity, speaking more directly or at a higher volume may be enough (and asking, am I being clear enough?); or offering written info, (our Self-Guided Tour document provides a lot of the info you'd be talking about); for vision difficulties, providing extra verbal cues can be helpful.

Marge Sullivan, Van Horne House: Request site manager for help. Someone else may have language experience to handle. Site has a plan for physical impairment though we like to know about those in advance.

Olinda Young, Van Veghten House: Are these visible, or have they self identified? If you see a cane,walker, guide dog, etc, you can explain mobility issues at the house. Often, those who are visually impaired may not to visit museums alone. They may have a companion who drove. You can ask how they would like to proceed. Would they like a high level discussion of floor plan? Or more attention to artifacts? Do they wish to explore via touch? Consider what would be safe and appropriate to touch (i.e. not damaged by body oils, etc) . Will the companion describe items, so you need to give a bit more time for that exchange? The Van Veghten House has two rooms on the ground level, but a short staircase leads down to the "museum" rooms. This could be explained ahead of time to help the guest decide how they want to progress. We have a book of photos for every area available. So not being able to"do" stairs can be less of an issue. For hearing issues we have a portable hearing aid device. And we have a large print version of the text in our standard brochure available.

Kathy Ormosi, Abraham Staats House: Sharing my information with others and learning from them; it's a two-way street.

Cindy Blumenkrantz, Van Horne House: I love history! I love people and giving them a reason to love history too. Sometimes that comes with dressing and acting the part. Sometimes that comes with a topic they know or have an interest in. Sometimes it’s just standing in something very old that witnessed our nations founding. Whatever the guests are wanting, the Heritage Trail Association is prepared to make their visit a memorable, accurate, and educational experience they will come back to and bring friends and family to! If what we do keeps me interested, I know it’s going to be a great program, speaker, or event. The Heritage Trail Association is always looking for people who want a varied experience! We don’t stick to one time, one location, or one venue. For example, we use RVCC, the baseball park, Middlesex county, and more! We are not just a museum, but we are also a venue for authors, a reenactment group, a Rev War site, an Industrial Revolution site, a stage coach stop, a witness to the civil war, a WWI and II site, a roaring 20’s era home — all the way up to 2025! We make use of our history, whatever that happens to be.

Kathy Ormosi, Abraham Staats House: I love sharing history with people, the whys, the hows, of everyday living, culture, events that shape our lives today; the interesting stories of the people connected with the household and farmstead; the interesting connections; the American Revolution — and offering people information that connects the dots, or explains the way things were — and I love learning new things from the people I communicate with about the House.

Marge Sullivan, Van Horne House: What I love most about my docent experience is talking to people.

Olinda Young, Van Veghten House: I love sharing the stories, and passing on the sense of wonder about the national significance of stuff in our own backyard! I enjoy igniting curiosity, encouraging excitement, and enthusiasm.

Kathy Faulks, Abraham Staats House: Read up on the topic beforehand and ask questions.

Cindy Blumenkrantz, Van Horne House: Seek what you love. This doesn’t mean finding something that you know everything about, but instead a place or topic you can add to your knowledge, something you enjoy doing, and can grow and develop into. Historic sites are all different. Visit them, ask questions, drill down on your own questions to dig deeper with the group you would like to work with. Fit into the group while creating your individual niche is the organization. Not everything is for everyone. Experiment, have fun! If it’s not fun and rewarding, move on until you find it or see what can be expanded. Bottom line: you get what you put in, so don’t be shy.

Kathy Ormosi, Abraham Staats House: Every new thing you learn will enrich you and your ability to share with visitors. Be curious; be open, have fun and enjoy the new world that will open to you!

Marge Sullivan, Van Horne House: Relax and enjoy talking about what you love!

Olinda Young, Van Veghten House: Be yourself. Have fun. Keep learning. Enjoy your guests. Stay healthy. Make friends for local history.