Bad Emcees Suck

All emcees—like all speakers—are not created equal. But all Big Meetings should have one or more. Why? Because the talented ones can elevate your event in multiple ways and make it memorable long after the last beer bottle has been passed in the back row.

Dealing with corporate and association audiences is never easy. They're typically sophisticated, jaded, and accustomed to “flash” in the form of high production values. As victims of a career's worth of long meetings, they quickly become bored. To up the energy level, the master of ceremonies has to be energetic, engaging, and entertaining, immediately and consistently. Otherwise, the engagement factor drops and so does the memorability of your event and reasons for being there.

This exact problem has become a sincere passion of mine, as I see, time and again, high-quality and attendee-focused meetings plagued with emcees who provide suckiness in the form of:

• Talking heads with no energy, emotion, or enthusiasm for what they are doing
• Uninspiring introductions and transitions from one segment or speaker to the next that lack interest and content
• Information inadequately delivered or presented at the wrong time
• Engagement practices that don't relate to the audience or to the overall objectives of the meeting
• Disengaged audience members who aren't connecting with the reason they are there

I believe the role of the master of ceremonies is not just to be a show coordinator who ensures an on-time event, but one that ensures the event attendees are fully engaged in the program, informed of what's coming up, and reminded of the importance of what has taken place.

As an emcee, you interact with the audience and effectively transition speakers, honorees, media, and other functional elements of the show to maintain proper flow and emotional balance. You should understand how and when to use interaction, humor, emotion, music, and lighting elements to emphasize or minimize the impact of a message or objective. The emcee is the live-event personality whom attendees should relate to, laugh with, and trust for timely, accurate information when needed.

This is definitely a lot to ask for, especially if you can't control who it is. It could be the sponsor of the event, who literally paid for this stage time; your current association board president, who has no speaking skills; or Timid Timothy, who didn't show up to the planning meeting and thus was given the job.

Here are some easy things you can do to increase the impact of your emcee right away, whether you picked the person or not.

Organizer SRDs

• Identify housekeeping announcements and how and when they should be mentioned. These might be time schedules for the day, sponsor thank-yous, upcoming highlights, silent auction features, bus and hotel information, and other logistical information about the event as a whole.
• Provide written (in large type on separate cards) introductions for each speaker, and review them with your emcee.
• Please go over proper pronunciation of all names. Write them phonetically, as needed. I'm not Jon “Pettis” or “Peetz” and certainly not “Putz.” It's pronounced Jon “Pets” (Petz).
• Ask your emcees to attend all rehearsals, including the sound checks. Have them become comfortable with the stage, and make sure they know where all talent, award winners, speakers, or executives will be entering and exiting.
• Help them understand the stage blocking and logistics you've planned for each element. No emcee wants to see anything get knocked over as the awards table is carried to center stage. Make sure your emcees know what's coming next.
• Be certain they have the proper microphone for their personal style. If they feel uncomfortable talking into a handheld device or tend to stray from the lectern, have them wear a lapel microphone or headset. If they say, “I will just hold it closer,” realize that when they're in show mode, it won't happen. Don't leave this critical element to chance.
• Have backup scripts and introductions handy in case the original gets lost.
• Have visual or audible cues for delay, stretch, or hurry-up tactics and ensure your emcees know what they are.

Master of Ceremony SRDs

• As cool as you might feel, you're not the reason people have come to this meeting. Keep focused on why attendees are here and how you can enhance their experience. Set your ego aside and make the honorees or attendees the stars!
• Know your audience. Do your homework.
• Go over each name you'll be announcing. If you have any question about pronunciation, go find the person, planner, or client and nail it.
• Always comment about something that just happened onstage. For example, you might confirm any congratulations earned or repeat meaningful points made in the segment.
• Always have an appropriate 30-, 60-, or 120-second anecdote at the ready. Live events are live events; something unexpected always happens that might delay their momentum. Your story can fill in nicely.
• Never (please read that as absolutely never) have your material go “blue.” Inappropriate jokes of a sexual, racial, or otherwise degrading nature should be absolutely avoided. Anything that even borders on PG-13 rating should be cleared with your organizer.
• Skills to become comfortable with:
  • Shaking hands. Seriously, you don't want to give or receive the dead-fish handshake on jumbotrons, I-Mag, or television.
  • Impromptu interviews onstage with award winners or executives. Remember that piece of homework? Get good at these interviews.
  • Microphones. Choose from handheld, wired lectern, lapel, or headset.
  • Confidence monitors. These are screens in front of the stage that prompt you about what's next, teleprompters, and in-ear prompters for larger events.
  • Speech patterns. Go back and read about the ums and aahs in Agenda Item 5 for a refresher on what not to do.

A talented master of ceremonies can turn a great event into a superb event. Emcees accomplish this by delivering a consistent personality and tempo to the event while seamlessly tying the content and objectives together and keeping the audience engaged. When in doubt, hire a pro! As with hiring the right meeting planner, your ROI for hiring the right emcee is well worth the cash outlay.