What makes a great emcee

Knowing who you are presenting to is key. Because the tone and audience for a wedding is very different than that of a gala or business conference. There may be times where you need to improvise when on stage but for the most part, the presentation should be well planned and practiced. To ensure everything goes off without a hitch, make sure everything is set up and tested well in advance of the event.

The first few minutes of your speech will set the stage for the rest of your show. If you start by mumbling, fidgeting, and making awkward jokes, it will only set an uncomfortable tone for the rest of the event. You need to come out confident with an engaging script that will set the tone for the rest of your show.

Let the audience know what you do and your relation to the cause. OK, then. First, deliver it for your boss, co-worker, intern, infant, ingrate, someone. Get their honest feedback and take it to heart.

Anxious emcees tend to blurt out these statements the moment they take the stage, in an uncontainable, last-ditch effort to lower expectations and increase sympathy for their plight.

Resigned to mediocrity, audience members sigh and reach for their smartphones. Your audience members deserve better. They chose to be there.

They showed up. And you are the master of their ceremonies. What a bummer of a first impression. What should you do instead? Do a great job.

Take the gig seriously. Prepare and practice with whatever time and resources are available. Either they write it themselves, or a professional scriptwriter does it for them. In many cases especially corporate and high-profile gigs the event manager will use the script to set the audio, lighting, prop, slide, and other cues managed by the crew during performance. So as the emcee, everyone else in your production is counting on you to say your approved lines in the right order, without straying from the script.

Many emcees take the low-tech, obvious route and simply print a copy of their script or notes, take it on stage, and read it to their audiences.

In the performance world, this is, shall we say, frowned upon. It also interrupts your eye contact with them, which makes it difficult to stay connected to them and generate that spontaneous humor we talked about. Instead, reading directs both your focus and that of your audience to your paper, at which point the paper becomes the true star of your show, and you become its supporting player. Some emcees take an alternate route, placing their word-for-word script on the slides projected on the screen for everyone to see, or on a laptop computer placed at their lectern.

The effect is the same: the emcee reads the notes, the audience knows the emcee is reading, and your notes become the true master of your ceremony. But if this option appeals to you, by all means, go for it.

In time of delays add some facts, jokes, current affairs, etc. Helpful 7 Not Helpful 1. Related wikiHows How to. How to. More References 1. About This Article. Co-authored by:. Stefanie Chu-Leong.

Co-authors: Updated: May 6, Categories: Event Management. Nederlands: Een goede ceremoniemeester zijn. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,, times. My sincere regards to you all for this post. More reader stories Hide reader stories. Did this article help you? Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy.

Mansur Alkali Oct 3. Abai Victor Asondo Mar 24, Helped in moving and confirming my style of coordinating public events. At 34, I've acted as MC in more than 50 public ceremonies. I've always improvised when things didn't seem to go the way they were planned. I always hold my audience spellbound until the end of the ceremonies, making sure I entertain them with jokes and comments. All of this is due to my good sense of humour. Perfect article for me and relevant to the issue.

Good enough to encourage, motivate, and even train aspiring MCs. Ram Orong Oct 5, I was looking for tips on how to be a good MC, because the next day, I will be the master of the ceremony for our World Teacher's Day Program in our school. This helps boost my confidence. Now, at least I know what to do. Juanita Breland Jul 25, Polo equestrian match today. Handed the mike. I know the game as a player , and know the names of the players.

My goal was to give info. Your advice appreciated. Ronke Aderounmu Jan 27, It has opened my eyes to other things I need to know as a good compere. I particularly liked the point that I don't have to force being a rib-cracker if I'm not naturally. But I still have to learn to in case I need to. Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy.

That's just one of the many differentiating factors between rappers and those who consider themselves MCs. Who best to help us with the definition of "MC" than one of the best in the business: Stic. In his book, The Art of Emceeing, Stic.

They are both fighters but the degree and depth of their skill are very different. Don't get it twisted: emceeing did not necessarily originate from hip-hop.

In fact, emceeing was around before the days of slavery, long before civilization blessed mankind with a microphone. The earliest pioneers of emceeing were African griots or poets, who delivered their rhythmic folk tales over drums and other forms of instrumentation. Little did they know back then that they were innovating an art form that would directly influence rap music. Certified emcees stand out because they share certain elements in common. Let's consider a few elements of emceeing:.

Rhyme Scheme: This is also known as rhyme structure. An emcee's rhyme scheme refers to the pattern of his rhymes. Delivery : An emcee's delivery is the way he or she flows.