Lessons from the Road – What I have learned talking to 10,000 travelers per year.

Guest Blogger – Josiah Brown

“Where are you located?”…And where is that?”

Unless you are running from Liam Neeson’s character in Taken…or Taken 2…or Taken 3 (does this guy own door locks?) you really do want people to be able to find you quickly.

Without fail, one of the first questions I hear after recommending amazing places to visit in New York is: “And where is that?” This question would always come as a surprise to me, as I felt that I had clearly stated where in my description. Here is the problem: We assume people know, or at least have a general sense of where we are when describing our location. But they don’t – so we have to know how to help them.

The Belgiumville Example

Belgiumville is a fantasy land I created to help better illustrate key points when I am giving a talk or speech. It is a fantasy vacation destination where you are supplied with endless amounts of free Belgium Chocolate and Belgium beer at your disposal…all year…365 days…24 hours per day. Are you sold? Want to go right now? What is your first immediate question? Where is it?!

Belgiumville is in the Great Belgium Region, next to the Great Peaks, in the Wide Lake Valley. Now, how helpful was that? If you don’t know where any of those places are, you are obviously going to stay lost. You want to be mindful of using terms that your audience is familiar with, and make sure that you are conveying your message in a way in which everyone will understand.

1) Tell people where you are by showing them a map that shows 400 miles and 50-100 miles scale. One can be a small reference point of several states with a star, and the other can be more detailed with highways, etc.

2) Tell them North, South, East or West of a major point that they will know.

3) Talk in hours instead of miles when describing distance (i.e. 2 hours north of NYC, or 15 minutes west of Newburgh.)

Consider using the back of your travel guide or brochure as a map, rather than as an advertisement about a destination they still don’t know how to find. This way people will feel more comfortable after using these visuals to better understand where you are located.

If you have a travel guide that has no destination, reference points, or maps that easily show where you are, don’t be surprised if Liam Neeson calls and says “I don’t know where you are, but I will find you, and I will kill you.” (he probably won’t call….)

Josiah Brown, the New York Sherpa has traveled New York State for 12 years and over 500k miles experiencing nearly everything there is to do. He is the resident expert on the New York’s Best Experiences Tour and the forthcoming NewYorksBestExperiences.com.