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Interpretive Techniques - The Rest of the Story Course

Advanced Interpretive Techniques -
Interpreting the "rest of the story".




Paul Harvey and Freeman Tilden - the "rest of the story"
tellers whose techniques you'll learn to use.


12 Units, 2.5 CEU Credits


Interpreting "the rest of the story", a powerful Interpretive communications technique for revealing and releasing the "rest of the stories" hidden in artifacts, objects, historical figures/events, landscapes, or sites through both live presentations and interpretive media text and label copy.

A long time ago - I guess that would be the 1950's, when I was in grade school and coming home for lunch, my grandmother would have my lunch ready for me (my parents both worked),and have the radio on. On the radio I would listen to "Paul Harvey and the Rest of the Story". There were engaging and masterful stories that I later realized were based on Tilden's Interpretive Principles - Provoke, Relate and Reveal. I wouldn't have imagined back then that my future career (now into its 40th year), would be based in large part on just how Paul Harvey constructed his stories, painted a picture with his words, and held onto his listeners for the "rest of the story" reveal. His "rest of the stories" are probably the best interpretive writing, and storytelling examples, you will ever hear or read.

This course will help you utilize and blend the Paul Harvey Rest of the Story format with Tilden's Interpretive Principles. An interpretive technique marriage I think you can embrace and use throughout your interpretive career.

You can start the course at any time and complete the course at your own pace. We can chat anytime you would like to via e-mail, phone or SKYPE. Note that the HITC is located in Michigan (USA) and in the Eastern Time zone.


Who is this course for:

- Any individual being assigned to an interpretive position with an agency or organization but
have had no formal university level training or courses in heritage interpretation.

- Park, Museum. zoos, botanical garden, heritage site interpretive/education staff.

- Any individual desiring to enter the interpretive profession from some other career profession.

- Museum, park, zoo, historic site docents or volunteers assigned to or interested in interpretive program delivery tasks.

- Landscape architects, historians, park planners and other professionals occasionally working on
interpretive projects and desire a basic understanding of what interpretation actually is.

- Professionals developing interpretive media who have had no formal training in interpretive
communications design (just because you call it "interpretive" doesn't mean that it is!).

- Professional tour guides desiring to acquire additional public program and tour interpretive
planning and presentation skills.

Course Goals: Upon completion of this course participants will:

- Have a working knowledge of Tilden's Interpretive Principles and the Paul Harvey presentation
style and format.
- Have a working knowledge of the Model of Interpretation.
- Will have developed proficiency in:

* Developing and writing interpretive themes.
* Developing and writing interpretive objectives (learn, feel, do).
* Develop skills in understanding how visitors learn and remember in heritage settings.
* Develop a solid understanding of the interpretive planning process for live/conducted
interpretive walks, tours or programs - revealing the "rest of the story".
* Acquire practical applications of interpretive program and tour presentation skills.
* Being able to use the interpretive planning model for planning/developing interpretive
media to include: interpretive panels, interpretive exhibits, audio interpretation media,
self-guiding media using the "rest of the story" format and techniques.
* Basics of interpretive writing using the "rest of the story" format.

About the Instructor: Prof. John Veverka



- B.S and M.S in Heritage Interpretation - The Ohio State University
- Ph.D. program in Interpretation at Michigan State University. Taught introductory and advanced interpretation courses at MSU for 5 years.
- Adjunct Professor Heritage Interpretation (summer heritage tourism institutes) North Carolina State University, New York State University.
- NAI Certified Interpretive Planner and Trainer
- NAI Fellow
- Certified Professional Heritage Interpreter (Canada).
- Author of several interpretive planning/training college text books.
- Publisher of InterpNEWS - the International Heritage Interpretation e-Magazine.
- 40 years of interpretive planning, training and writing experience.


The Advanced Interpretive Techniques - Interpreting
the Rest of the Story course units.


Unit One - an introduction to the "rest of the story" - meet Paul Harvey and Freeman Tilden - more than story tellers.

Unit Two - Tilden's principles for connecting the story to the every-day lives of the visitors.

Unit Three -Planning for the rest of the story - the model of interpretive communications and structuring the presentation or copy for the "reveal".

Unit Four - Planning for the rest of the story presentation process. Themes, objectives, tangibles and intangibles and active language - painting pictures with words and engaging the imagination.

Unit Five - Writing your rest of the story - a practicum - interpreting a paper clip.

Unit Six - Structure the rest of the story for individual interpretive stops on a guided tour or for a live program - your provoke to your "oh my" revealing of the rest of the story.

Unit Seven - Writing for an interpretive tour - linking individual stop "rest of the stories" to the main interpretive theme "rest of the story". Interpreting the cow museum as a rest of the story tour example.

Unit Eight - Writing for and revealing the "rest of the story" hidden in objects and artifacts.

Unit Nine - Developing your rest of the story for interpretive landscapes for live programs, vistas and viewpoints or other landscape interpretation.

Unit Ten - Developing the rest of the story for historic sites, building and historic sites. (Revealing stories hidden in art and art museums).

Unit Eleven - Sharing the "rest of the story" for historic figures and personalities (Let me tell you about Willem's passion). Stories to be revealed via living history interpretation and "visitors from the past" - interpretive theater.

Unit Twelve- Interpreting the rest of the story final assignment - pick a site, artifact, landscape of historic feature and write a "rest of the story about it", noting your theme, objectives, how you researched it and how you planed your "reveal" of the rest of the story.

This new course is ready to go. . You'll be able to pay for the course below via credit card or Pay Pal. You can also pay by check.

Cost for the 30 hours training with live interaction with the instructor is $175.00 USD.

If you're interested in this course and would like to enroll in it - send an e-mail to John at: jvainterp@aol.com to let me know you're interested in the course and to see if you have any questions about the course. Then you can return to this web site page to pay for the course using the
BUY NOW button below. Once we have received your tuition payment I'll send you Unit One to get you started to discovering the power of "the rest of the story".









Feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all.

Contact John at:
jvainterp@aol.com
www.heritageinterp.com
Skype: jvainterp












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