5 Things Your Conference Emcee Needs To Prepare For Your Event
Emcees at corporate annual meetings and events can engage audiences so they can laugh, retain knowledge, get questions answered and build community amongst their peers. More than that, a great event emcee can push forward the theme of your gathering, move the agenda along on time and save the day when things go off-track from a speaker than ended early or some AV issues that pop up.
So how does an MC (aka master of ceremonies or emcee) prepare to be a great partner for your event? Here’s 5 things a great emcee should know before they hit the conference stage:
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE + VALUES
Your emcee should be well-versed in the company's culture and values. This will ensure that they can properly represent the company and engage with attendees on a personal level. Whether it’s using industry and organizational language, inside mottos and lingo or knowing how to incorporate the core values of the organization in the commentary and transitions of the event, having an emcee that does this often gets the compliment of “They are one of us!” - attendees thinking that the emcee is an internal team member, not an outside professional.
PLANNING FOR ENGAGEMENT
Have your emcee focus on creating an engaging and interactive experience for attendees. This could include games, trivia, Q&A sessions, or anything else that gets people involved and talking to each other with your biggest event goals at the center of planning. If you want to welcome new team members at your annual conference, a great emcee might plan a first timers mixer or quick get-to-know-you activity. If it’s a group of fast-paced sales professionals at their annual sales meeting, maybe it’s more of a lighthearted competition. Anything to get folks smiling and connecting is a win for your event and a great emcee knows exactly how to engage!
PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER + PREPARER
It might sound silly, but make sure your emcee is comfortable with public speaking and has a strong stage presence because without command on the stage? The emcee will be over-talked, ignored and battling to do their job. This will help them keep the attention of the audience and keep things moving along smoothly. Great emcees do not make the event all about them, but instead work hard to be influential on behalf of the event itself - the theme, the organization, the goals of the event, and the speakers. Being prepared by knowing the goals of the event, run of show down to the minute and partnering with the AV team to make an impact on stage separates a professional emcee from a volunteer one.
SPREAD HAPPINESS
“Joy shared is joy multiplied” and when your emcee loves being with your event, it shows and spreads to your attendees, speakers and event professionals on site. Being an emcee is hard work but my favorite role at an event - it’s so much fun to introduce awesome speakers, tie together themes and messages, and interact with the audience! Not every emcee feels like that, and the audience can tell so choose an emcee who is funny and personable. This will help to keep the mood light and make sure people are enjoying themselves. Note: Do not forget to ask your emcee to share examples of their humor! It’s important that humor is not used in a crass manner or at the expense of your leadership, organization or attendees! Inclusive humor is a must!
CREATE CONNECTIONS AND COMMUNITY
A great emcee will become part of your event team and sometimes your emcee-in-residence, being part of all of your events, webinars, board retreats, leadership trainings, and more (ask us about this program here!). So ahead of the event, a great emcee will ask questions so they can help build community among attendees. This could involve facilitating networking opportunities or organizing social events for after the conference such as a conference recap happy hour or 1st timers meet up. The possibilities are endless but one thing is for sure: People are hungry for connection and events are one of the biggest opportunities to build connections, loyalty, and camaraderie amongst your attendees, teams and organization.
Preparation as an emcee goes way past when and where to show up, what to say and who is speaking. As a high energy emcee for corporate events, annual conferences and meetings, these tips have been tried and tested with massive success and hope they help you as a meeting planner find, interview and prepare your event emcee for success way past the time on stage!
Rachel Sheerin is an award-winning keynote speaker, emcee and burnout expert. Interested in learning more about Rachel for your event? Contact us today!