Visitor interpretation is the means of communicating ideas and feelings, which help visitors enrich their understanding and appreciation of the world and their role in it.  

Your visitors have chosen to take part in an interpretive experience because they are eager to understand and experience the different stories behind our natural, cultural and historic heritage. 

An interpreter (guide or the interpretation media) translates technical, difficult or complex information about nature, culture and history in a way that is entertaining, relevant, organised and themed. 

The very best interpreters (guide or the interpretation media) can spin a 'web of magic' that provides a greater understanding of the person and their place in the world. They create a positive experience that may result in either some sort of change in behaviour or a new way of looking at the world.

These days interpretation is most effective if it is firstly based on entertainment i.e. you have to get visitors attention first! Modern interpretation needs to up the ante on the “E” factor. As Linda Kapler Thaler says: “we have become an entertainment-centric society, where the path of least resistance is the one that amuses or startles us most”.

Documents:

Approaches in Interpretation