Hosting an event or being the MC (“Master Of Ceremonies”) for any event can be a huge undertaking!
Usually, your duties will include: hosting the event, running the show, coordinating all other speakers & guests, keeping people entertained, keeping the event running to schedule, filling any gaps and much, much more.
And if you’ve never done it before; it can be a very overwhelming job.
So I’ve put together this easy-to-follow guide to show you what you’ll need to prepare in advance and what you can do on the night to host/ mc/ emcee like a pro at your next corporate event.
Alternatively, if this all seems a bit much; hire a professional MC and event host instead!
1. Know Your Role
Usually, your role as a host will be to ensure that the event runs smoothly from beginning to end.
It includes welcoming everyone to the event, outlining the agenda for the event, introducing any guests or speakers you may have, and keeping the flow going throughout the event while keeping it engaging.
But before you start to prepare your talking points, you should know what the aim of the event is.
Does your company want to motivate current staff, celebrate something or is this a client event?
Find out why the event is taking place first and then build out your approach from there.
2. Learn the Schedule
As the “Master of Ceremonies”, it’s your job to keep everything moving during the event.
So it’s essential to plan around the schedule accordingly.
Make sure you give enough time between speakers for transitions and breaks and know when other events are taking place; such as meals or other entertainment.
That way, you’ll be able to keep the speakers on topic, keep them on time and have be prepared enough to fill in any spaces to keep the flow of the event going!
3. Be Entertaining!
Although you’re not supposed to necessarily be the star of the event, you are required to be entertaining, engaging and in some cases; work the crowd. Nobody wants to sit listening to someone who isn’t fun, funny and interesting. Tell some anecdotes, funny stories or do something different or amazing to keep your audience engaged.
It’s also crucial to know who the audience is and what topics both interest them and might be funny to them. This is where experience and practise comes in useful so try to get up in front of a crowd as much as possible before your big event!
4. Learn About the Speakers
As you’ll be introducing the speakers and potentially leading discussions with them, it’s essential that you learn about each and every one of the speakers — who they are, what they do, what they’re here to speak about and for goodness sake - learn how to pronounce their name in advance!
You should also make sure to gather and chat to each speaker at the start of the event, so they know both yours and their role in the event as well.
5. Practice Your Content
It’s important that you write and practice your delivery and the content in advance of the event, too.
Not only will this help you to stay on time during your event but it will help to ease your nerves come event day. Everyone can tell when someone’s simply reading off a card or a piece of paper and it’s not a good look!
It’s also beneficial to talk to the venue coordinator to set up practice time for you before the event where you can get up on the stage, hear your voice through the microphone and practice your tone and delivery on-mic.
If you don’t have experience working with a microphone, get some! Get to the venue early and just walk around the stage with a mic, practising how you’re going to hold it, what it sounds like depending how and where you hold it etc. This will make you look very professional whereas being uncertain or inexperienced with a mic is a big giveaway that you don’t know what you’re doing!
6. Be Prepared to Improvise
Whenever you’re public speaking, you need to be prepared to improvise in case something goes wrong like a speaker fails to show up, the microphone breaks or the visual equipment doesn’t work.
So make sure you know the venue, know which staff can help if you need it, and make sure prepare some extra content and ways to entertain the audience that you can use in case the occasion arises.
All this is pretty difficult stuff but with the right preparation and experience - anyone can do it!