What to Consider while Hiring an Emcee for Your Event
What to Consider while Hiring an Emcee for your Event
An Emcee can make or break your event. Many people hire people for their events without really putting much thought into it. A lot of times, this ends up being disastrous. An emcee’s role is to keep the audience interested right from the start and keep them engaged right through to the end.
An emcee is more than just some guy with a microphone trying to make clever jokes at an event. He is someone with a great responsibility to ensure the event goes on smoothly. Whether it’s a birthday party, corporate event or your favorite daughter’s graduation party, you need to find the right fit for the person who will emcee it. Before deciding on who you want to hire, there are qualities that you should look out for in your emcee such as:
- 1. Expertise and Experience
Hiring a professional emcee is crucial. An experienced emcee knows how to handle and entertain the crowd and hype up the atmosphere. He knows how to read the mood of the audience; tell when they are excited, tired or bored and respond accordingly.
Fact is, every event has a chance of failure. Things might go wrong; sound systems may fail, last minute script changes and other hiccups can really mess up inexperienced emcees. However, a professional can handle these problems easily.
A professional emcee should not shy from giving his input if and when the need comes up during the event. He is also disciplined and knows how to manage time; you don’t want a guy who will drag the event into overtime (folks have other stuff to do, you know).
- 2. Personality
Contrary to popular opinion, celebrities don’t always make the best emcees. They are a good way to fill up seats. But many have been hired and ended up being a disaster. A good emcee is a natural: likable and with a commanding presence.
Before you hire an emcee for your event, remember that they are a representation of you and what your enterprise stands for. If they make a good impression, then it is a win for you. Are they well-respected? Are they modest and pleasant? If the answer to these questions is yes, then they are the perfect for the job.
- 3. Uniqueness
There are many events happening everywhere all the time. People have seen their fair share of masters of ceremonies. They can probably predict what an emcee may say and try to complete their sentences; that is if you hire a rigid and bland one! A good emcee should have something special to offer to your event and make it memorable.
The most successful emcees are the ones who add humor, some comedy, host characters or anything else that will make your audience smile.
- 4. Participation
An emcee should understand the process and implementation of the agenda of the event. They should understand what you want to communicate to your audience and know how to present it. You should work with them through the preparation of the event to understand the communication process.
A good emcee will be able to accommodate requests from the audience, ask questions and provide answers and their professional opinion when asked. By doing so, you will find way less people dozing off or asking for the Wi-Fi password!
The key to a successful event is about finding the right fit. Take a look at your audience and try to find an emcee that will associate well with them. For example, there is a difference in between appealing to an audience of tech-savvy IT managers and a group of Business School undergraduates. Those two audiences are not into the same interests and so different emcees will have different effects on each one of them.
An emcee should also align with the objectives of your event. If it is a corporate seminar, a well-known hedge fund manager might do the trick. If it is a fundraising event, a high profile celebrity to attract ticket orders will be perfect. A motivational event might do well with an energetic and witty emcee to make the crowd lively.
The emcee’s fees should also fit into your budget. Fees rise according to skill, celebrity status and experience, so you should know right from the start how much you can invest. Finding an emcee that is both affordable and available is tricky. A good way to do so is to consult with speaker bureaus.
In conclusion, a good emcee should understand their role, be fun an engaging and also knowledgeable and smart. When in the search for one, keep a keen eye on their reputation, their skills and their ability to deliver to the audience.