TEHIC-Handbook_of_best_practices

2. An overview of the concept of heritage interpretation and its evolution. TEHIC Towards a European Heritage Interpretation Curriculum 16 already possess. On the other hand, it must be relevant to the ego, i.e., people must feel that what we are telling them has to do with them, with their life and their experiences. This concept is absolutely key for communication in heritage interpretation, for those experiences to be truly meaningful. To this end, a number of issues are addressed, one of the most important of which are the so-called tangible, intangible and universal concepts. Tangible concepts are those related to the legacy to be interpreted that can be per - ceived by our senses, which can be measured, touched, weighed, etc.; such concepts are data, information. In a gallery forest, the following are examples of tangible items: the river, the water, a mill, a bridge, stones, trees, a path, and so on. Intricately linked to these are the intangible concepts , which are those abstract attributes that reveal the true meaning of the resources. Some examples of intangible items are harmony, pollution, biodiversity, ecosystem, work, relax, life, culture, joy, love, family, death, purity, and so on. Within the latter, we select those that have a higher relevance: they are the universal concepts . Their name comes from the fact that they are important for everyone, but it is essential to understand that each individual goes through the world with " his or her own baggage", containing our values, experiences, and culture. For example, we all have an idea of the concept of "death", but this will be screened by our own experiences of it, as well as the values associated with it in our family, social environment, and culture. Con - tinuing with the examples listed above, we might select work, life, culture, joy, love, family, and death. People understand information better when it is organised , as it is easier to process. Simple examples of how to organise information are, on the one hand, to tell stories chronologically, for example, at an archaeological site, from back forwards, or from the end backwards. Also, with regard to the structure of texts, whether for unattended en- vironments or for oral interventions by a guide; as interpreters we tell stories, and it is important that these stories have a standard format containing an introduction, a devel- opment and a conclusion or closure of the message we want to convey. One of themost distinguishing features of heritage interpretation is that it is thematic . A Theme is the core idea that we want to convey to the visiting public and that we want them to remember and believe when they finish reading a panel or participating in a guid - ed tour. People retain messages better when it is a complete idea expressed in a sentence format with subject, verb, and predicate. Examples of themes are: "Women weave on land, thread by thread, the history of work at sea", "Rivers used to give bread to families" or "Villages are born from the earth".