How To MC A Business Event At Short Notice

11pm.  You're drifting off into the wonderful world of sleep when your phone starts ringing.  Who could it be?  It's a client.  "Remember the conference and exhibition I told you about?  I need you to MC the opening ceremony.  9am tomorrow.  Can you do it?"

Talk about short notice!  And how does one really prepare so little time to the event? Here are critical questions you should get answers to.

Are you available?

Of course, you need to first be physically present to MC the event.  So, first hang up and quickly flip through your diary.  If you're not free on the date and time, too bad for your client.  Offer to recommend someone else and go back to bed.   However if you will be available, call your client back and ask for more information.

What information do you need?

You need to know what the conference is about, who the audience and speakers will be, and what the program lineup will look like.

Ask the organizer to give you a general picture of the event.  Confirm from him who the audience will be. Since it's an opening ceremony of a conference and exhibition, the audience is likely to include delegates and exhibitors as well as the media.  Ask the organizer to email you the program lineup and brief profiles of all the speakers.

How much will you get paid?

If you're doing the job as a favor for a friend, skip this question.  However if you are a professional MC, you deserve to be rewarded for your services.  Remember, the organizer called you at that late hour because he really needed your services and is expecting you to do a professional job.

How do you prepare?

As the MC, you must have enough general knowledge on the conference subject matter to speak intelligently about the main issues.  Even if the organizer emailed you a bunch of conference documents, you wouldn't have enough time to read them fully to absorb the contents.  Remember your event is less than ten hours away.

What's your solution?

Here's what I did when I got a late night request to MC an e-commerce conference and exhibition the following morning.  I went online and headed to YouTube.  In the search box, I typed in "what is e-commerce".  In forty-five minutes, and while putting my clothes together for my assignment the following day, I watched two online videos.

The first broke down the concept of e-commerce and the other featured Jack Ma, Alibaba Group CEO making a presentation at an international e-commerce conference.  Still on YouTube,  I searched for "e-commerce in africa" and found another conference presentation on the challenges and opportunities of doing online business in Africa. Not bad for a spot of last minute research don't you think?

What do you do on the day?

1. Get to the venue a least an hour early.
2. Familiarize yourself with the room and the equipment you'll be using (microphone for you,projector for the presenters).
3. Introduce yourself to the speakers and confirm the correct pronunciation if their names are unfamiliar to you.
4. Check to see if there are any changes to the program emailed to you earlier.  Makes sure you have both soft and hard copies of the speaker profiles and program.  If one version fails, you'll have a backup.
5. Establish who your unique contact will be during the event so that information about any changes can flow freely between you and that person.

Even though you weren't given sufficient notice, you've done enough preparation to ensure a successful event.

You're good to go!

How To Introduce A Speaker And Make Everybody Want To Listen!

Here are two examples of how to introduce a speaker and make everybody sit up waiting expectantly for the speech.  The first comes from a wedding reception.  The second is from the opening ceremony of a conference.

Wedding speaker introduction

"She must be the bride's sister."  That was my immediate impression when I was introduced to her after the service.  And then I found out that she's more than a sister to the new missus.

Through the years, she's become a friend and a confidante.  Tonight she has a few words of praise and appreciation to share about the lovely woman whose marriage we've witnessed.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's put our hands together to show some love for the graceful and beautiful...mother of the bride!"

Conference speaker introduction

"There are only two Ghanaian professors who've ever been inducted into global Halls of Fame in their respective professions.  One is our very own professor and former world boxing champion Azumah 'Zoom Zoom' Nelson.

The other is our next speaker.

Our speaker is a scientist and engineer.  He's played a pioneering role in introducing and developing the Internet throughout Africa.  We're honoured to have him share with us how online businesses can be developed in Ghana.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's have a round of applause for Ghana's own Internet Hall of Famer...Professor Nii Narku Quaynor!"

Both of these introductions were well received by the speakers and their audiences.  

Why?

1.  They both incorporate a combination of surprise and unusual comparisons (mother being mistaken for the bride's sister; academic professor being compared with a famous boxing champion).

2.  They are both brief, positive and speak of the speakers' experience or qualifications in glowing terms (mother as friend and confidante; academic as Internet pioneer).

3.  Each introduction focuses on the subject of the remarks to be delivered by the speakers. This way, each audience is prepared by the MC to hear the speakers address a specific topic.

4.  Both maintain suspense by only revealing the identity of the speaker at the very end of the introduction. This technique draws audiences into a drama by heightening their interest in what is being said.

This formula works.

It's the secret for introducing speakers and making everybody take notice.  Use it the next time you have to prepare introductory remarks.  And be ready for the positive vibes you'll be helping to spread all around!

How To MC An Awards Ceremony

 

 

An awards ceremony is a special corporate event designed to recognize and reward excellence within a particular industry. It brings together the top people who make things happen in that industry to network... in a relaxed setting. It provides a perfect excuse for guests to dress up in their finest to spend three or four hours wining, dining and sharing the in the joy of the winners. It can also be a source of abject boredom if the Master of Ceremonies doesn't bring it to life with an entertaining style of presentation. For how long would you tolerate the MC mechanically announcing "And the winner is...and the winner is...”?

Preparation

The secret to successfully emceeing an awards ceremony is the same as any other special event - the key is preparation. If you have been chosen to host your company's annual awards, pat yourself on the back. Someone thinks you can do a good job in handling the show. Now it's up to you not to disappoint them or yourself. Get to work immediately.

Request a meeting

Have a conversation with the event organizer. Make sure you take notes. What do you talk about? Here are eleven questions you should ask:
1. When is the awards ceremony?
2. Where is it taking place?
3. What time does it start?
4. Why these awards at this particular time of the organization's life? This sounds like an obvious question but you may get extra insights from the response that could be helpful to you.
5. Who hosted last year's event? (If it was recorded, ask for copies of the video)
6. Who is your sole contact person during the event?
7. Who are the speakers on the programme? You will need their profiles so you can introduce them well.
8. Who will provide entertainment? The deejay? A live band? A comedian?
9. How many awards will be presented?
10. Who is presenting the awards? Company executives? VIPs?
11. What is the highest award? You'll want to climax the event by announcing this one last.

Running Order

Next, ask the organizers for a draft running order or run sheet. This document shows what will happen at a specific time during the show. I have come across elaborate versions done in Microsoft Excel with precise timings for everything that happens on the stage including scripts for what the MC should be saying. The running order is your best friend if you are the MC. It is your road map that will help you get to Destination Successful Event in good time.

Always note that the running order is not set in stone like the Ten Commandments. For example, if it bunches thirty awards in one presentation segment you can take the liberty of splitting the awards up. You could for example present ten before dinner, ten during dinner and the remainder right after the final musical performance. Audiences attend events primarily to be entertained and you the MC are the facilitator of the entertainment. Bend the running order to suit the dictates of the event.

Rehearsal

As the MC, you've asked your questions and you've received the running order. Are you ready to host the event? You know the saying "Practice makes perfect." It's time to put the saying to the test. You should aim to have a full dress rehearsal of the event at least once.

Practice the key moments of the ceremony – the introduction, the award presentations. In what order will the awards be arranged and presented when the categories are announced? That will prevent you from announcing one category only for the winner to be presented with a plaque for a different award. Will the announcement of awards be synchronized with music? Then you and the deejay have to be well coordinated. It is only during the rehearsal session that you'll know how the different segments of the show fit and flow into each other.

Show time!

After this amount of preparation, you are ready for your awards ceremony. Get to the venue ahead of time, start on time and have a good time! Success is yours!

How To MC A Corporate Breakfast Meeting

 Breakfast meetings are corporate networking events that take place in the morning.  They are usually held in a hotel.  Important speakers are invited to deliver presentations about relevant business topics.  A Master of Ceremonies is required to take control of the event.  As the MC, how do you host such an event successfully?

Welcome

If the meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30am, arrive at least an hour early.  Check out the meeting hall, test your microphone and meet the organizers.  When the guests start appearing, introduce yourself, welcome them to the event.  Some breakfast meetings require guests to register and give out their business cards for a raffle that will be held during the meeting.  One of your first tasks is to direct guests to the registration desk with a reminder that they may win big if their card is drawn.  Organizers use the registration exercise to harvest contacts of business executives so be enthusiastic about encouraging guests to register and hand over their cards.  Even during the meeting, you can continue to remind the audience to register.

The first part of a breakfast meeting deals with the food.  After guests have settled at their tables, announce that breakfast is ready.  They will approach the buffet tables to serve themselves but you won't join them.  Remember they are there to network but you are there to manage the event.  You are effectively on duty.   You may get engrossed in a conversation and forget that you were engaged to do a specific job - host the event.  You may be called upon to suddenly make an announcement and if your mouth is full of food, how professional will that be?  You may even accidentally spill coffee on your suit and have to take to the stage with a big brown stain in full view of the audience.  Hungry because you didn't grab a bite?  Tough.  There will be plenty of time after the event to sample the breakfast fare.

Announcements

Halfway through breakfast, you'll start the meeting by welcome guests once again.  Run through all the announcements that need to be made - fire exits, directions to washrooms, requests for cars blocking exits to be re-parked and registration reminders.  If the event is sponsored, acknowledge the sponsoring company's representative and invite them to make a presentation about their organization.  You can also remind guests to visit sponsor stands for more information about their products and services.

Introductions

You're now ready to bring the speakers onto the stage.  Even if the organizers gave you their profiles, it's a good idea to touch base with the speakers during breakfast to confirm those details.  To do an excellent job, you must have the speaker's name and its correct pronunciation, their title and professional achievements.  Introduce every speaker using this formula: Profession-Experience-Relevance to Audience-Speaker's Name.  It builds drama and gets the audience's attention because they will be curious about who that person is.  Here's an example of a brief but solid introduction:

"Our first speaker is a serial entrepreneur.  She has spent the best part of 2 decades building, running and selling successful companies.  We are privileged to have her speak to us about identifying opportunities in a challenging business environment.  Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together as we welcome...Dr. Rose Donkor."

Question Time

While the speaker is talking, it is likely that the audience will have all manner of questions to ask.  You can handle this at the end of the talk by asking guests to raise their hand if they want a question answered.  If nobody ventures, be prepared to ask the first one or two questions.  When the audience starts firing away, limit them to one per person plus a follow-up question so nobody dominates the interaction. Another way of getting a wide variety of queries is to pass around slips of paper to the audience.  Ask them to anonymously write down their questions while the speaker is presenting.  At question time, the filled paper slips will be retrieved and read.  The advantage of this system is that guests who are nervous about speaking in public can still have their concerns tackled.  Also there's no pressure on you to ask a question to get the ball rolling.

Raffle

Before you announce the business card draw, clarify the rules.  When I MC at a breakfast meeting, I usually bar the organizers, the media and myself from taking part in the raffle.  I also stress that if a winner is not in the room at the time of announcement, that person forfeits their claim to the prize.  A full house always adds excitement to the draw.  Put the business cards in a bowl and ask members of the audience to come up and pick winners.  Always leave the grand prize as the last one to be announced - it adds drama to the event!

The End

After introducing the person to present the vote of thanks, you can close the breakfast meeting by asking your audience to stop by the sponsor stands on their way out.  Wish them a productive rest of the day and you're done.  You can now have your own breakfast, you've earned it!