The Advantages of DIY-Emceeing



Last entry we talked about the advantages a professional external emcee has over an internal emcee. (How to Emcee Your Event Like a Pro)

But external emcees aren't automatically superior to internal emcees. About 70% of our events feature internal emcees (of varying degrees of skill) and there are definite benefits to utilizing an internal company employee/leader as your event emcee.

1. They know your people.

Knowing who is in the audience is a big shortcut to building audience rapport. Internal emcees are familiar with your audience--clients or internal employees--and they can use that knowledge to modify their energy, their comments, and their activities.

If there needs to be a volunteer to perform a demonstration, they know who they can call on to get participation. Maybe more valuable--they know who NOT to call out or ask up to the stage.

2. They get the in-jokes.

Hand in hand with knowing the people, they also know the common references in the company. They know when a particular acronym or term has a sordid history. They know that Jane Doe moved from x department to y department to z department. They can easily pull references that make the audience crack up and relate.

Likewise, they can serve as a barometer for what is actually going to make the audience laugh or not. Not that an internal emcee knows everything about audience humor, but they have a good pulse on the company culture and can give a suggestion of where lines should be drawn.

3. They can explain/recap concepts.

Perhaps the most value in having an internal emcee comes when it's time to glue all the presentations together.

An emcee with internal knowledge of what the speakers are trying to say can transition to a speaker by providing important context. They can recap a presentation by clarifying a few key points or by solidifying what it means to the audience. They have an understanding of how a discrete speech might fit into the big picture and they can make these connections for the audience.

This gives consistency and is incredibly powerful in making sure that the content presented has a better chance of being remembered.

4. They can provide tangible follow-up.

An internal emcee can make promises that an external emcee couldn't hope to keep. They can take questions and concerns and turn them into post-event follow-up. They already have rapport and context to leverage with the audience, so it's a natural step to, post event, have a follow-up action.

It could be as simple as, "You know when CEO talked about XYZ? Well, here's where the rubber meets the road". It could also be more complex--like a serious of follow-up videos, checking in on action items, holding people accountable, or even following up on panel questions.

5. They are an on-site resource. 

While their time may be limited on-site most of the time, if you can get a dedicated internal emcee it can enhance an event tremendously by giving you more flexibility to react to the event in real-time.

Something happen at an evening event? The emcee can clue you in, give you context, and let you play off (or address it) as needed in the general session. If you decide that there needs to be an extra energizer event--like a game show round--in between presentations, an internal emcee can help you vet questions or give you an idea of whether you're on the right path.


Overall? Either an internal or an external emcee can work--depending on the individual talents and strengths of the individual. Either one should be a charismatic people-person who has the ability to spend dedicated time rehearsing, and who is willing to go with the flow of a dynamic event.
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How to Emcee Your Event Like a Pro

At our events sometimes there is an internal emcee (a member/employee of the company holding the event), and sometimes the emcee is external (someone hired for the sole purpose of emceeing the event).

We don't have a cut-and-dried preference either way. The ratio ends up being about 70% internal, 30% external. There are benefits to either approach. Recently, however, an internal emcee--who was already quite good--asked us what external/professional emcees did that they didn't, and what they could do to be better.

There are several advantages to having an external emcee--which we'll talk about here. The next entry will deal with the advantages of having an internal emcee. These advantages certainly aren't true of ALL external emcees--and we've seen internal emcees have several of these attributes as well.

But generally, here are the advantages of having an external emcee.

1. Sole focus is on the event at hand. 

Something that we hear, over and over again, about the value of live events is the irreplaceable amount of networking time. It's one thing to communicate with global colleagues on a daily basis; it's quite another to have them face to face with you--attention undivided.

Internal emcees, naturally, cannot give up this valuable time. You wouldn't want your VP of sales NOT to network with their direct reports.

There is also a matter of divided responsibilities. Internal emcees often have additional event tasks; managing an element of the event, leading a breakout session, and handling day-to-day business issues that crop up.

External emcees don't have any of that distraction while they're on the event. This gives them the advantage of dedicated time and focus. Which leads to...

2. Rehearsal time.

Rehearsing is critical for ANYONE. Even if it's just a cue-to-cue walk through or a mic check, you don't want to go up on stage without rehearsing. This becomes more and more crucial as events become more interactive and complex; incorporating multimedia, multiple presenters, panels, social media, and gamification elements.

Because external emcees are there to do one thing--emcee the event--they are available for rehearsals whenever there are rehearsals to be had. They don't get dragged into additional meetings or workshops.

3. No late nights.

In general, internal emcees will keep pace with the company culture. They build rapport with their people through networking and engaging in the same activities as they do. Sometimes--for better or worse--these activities include late-night drinking/partying/events AT an event.

The peer pressure involved--especially if it's a once-a-year event with a close team or an opportunity to wine-and-dine clients/customers--can be immense. We're not saying that these elements of an event are bad--we're just saying that internal emcees should probably limit alcohol consumption and call it an early-ish night.

We have had hung-over internal emcees on the stage. They dealt with it and powered through, but they didn't have the same energy and focus as a well-rested, ready-to-go emcee.

(This isn't to say that external emcees are always angels in this regard, mind, but there is less networking pressure to do so.)

4. Unflagging energy. 

This ties in with the point about being over-committed to multiple tasks at an event, networking, staying out late and drinking, but it ALSO refers to being professionally trained to maintain one's energy over multiple days.

Most external emcees are specifically trained/prepared to emcee for multiple days without losing their energy or ability to do their job. Even when they may have to do the same thing over and over again or rehearse multiple times.

This is trick of training and practice and mental energy, but it can also be as simple as being physically up to the task. We have had internal emcees lose their voices by the second day of an event simply because they're not used to speaking at-length and at-volume that the emcee performance requires.

5. Stretch the comfort zone.

Sometimes emcees need to get a bit silly. Not ridiculous, mind, but it takes a certain shedding of a straight-laced persona to--say--host a game show with enthusiasm. When internal emcees are too concerned about maintaining a certain type of image or professional relationship with their audience, it can inhibit their ability to be the most effective emcee they can be.

Often times it also impacts the delivery of script. There will be something that needs to be said, but an internal emcee will veto it as not consistent with their personality/sense of humor/whatever--which is valid, but can reduce the overall impact of the event. Internal politics can also play a part in this.

We had an emcee who hosted a game show, but was very concerned about how they came off. As a result, they were self-conscious and rushed through questions. They game show was still great, but it could have been much better with an infusion of an energetic host.

External emcees are mostly free of these concerns. If their job is to host a game show--they'll host a game show with aplomb. If their job is to stay straight-laced--they will. (If they're good, that is.)


An internal emcee can be very powerful and a tremendous asset--we're not against them at all. However, special considerations--especially around the emcee's time on-site--should be taken for them to be the most effective emcee they can be.
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Is Your Emcee Square?

At a multi (or even single) day event, having a good emcee can make the difference between losing your audience or keeping them engaged.

We've been very lucky lately to be gifted with some truly talented internal emcees. We don't always have a choice in who we get to use ("You must use our CFO, he's great!"), and being saddled with an emcee who lacks emcee-prowess can drag down an event quickly.

A not-ideal emcee:
Doesn't know how to maintain their energy
We had an internal presenter who was vivacious and talented, but she wasn't prepared for how demanding the role of emcee can be on one's energy reserves. By the second day of a three day event, her enthusiasm was clearly waning (and the audience followed suit). By the third day she was over it AND she had lost her voice. Though she tried her best, the event ended with a whisper instead of a bang.

Just announces names/presentations
An emcee needs to be more than just an announcer (and you definitely need more than an announcer in between presentations). An emcee is a point of continuity for the audience, but is also a "refresh" button for their brain. The emcee has an opportunity to cement learning and content retention in these moments.

Only reads from the script
Sometimes having an emcee that will stay on script is very important, but an emcee also shouldn't ignore real, changing, dynamic events in favour of sticking directly to what's on the prompter. Having something occur and not commenting on it can feel like a mismatch for the audience.

There's something about an emcee that's over-rehearsed/has a script memorized that is also jarring--or, rather, feels canned. An emcee can read a script with perfection, but if it sounds like they're reading, it's not going to be an engaging experience.

Doesn't have a picture of the whole event on mind
The emcee should be the connective tissue in the event, and they should also be able to see how the pieces connect, themselves. If what one presenter said is going to relate to what they're going to cover in a workshop or the next day, the emcee should be able to have that in their head and make the connection for the audience. This means that the emcee should be intimately involved with the planning of the event content; they should not be hearing everything for the first time with the audience.

Isn't a good match for the audience
A universally-disliked manager isn't going to make a good emcee. Likewise, sometimes a peer isn't going to have the credibility they need to convey content. There is no prescriptive answer for who should be the emcee: sometimes an external emcee is the answer, sometimes the sales VP, sometimes that really charismatic person from marketing, etc.
Sometimes it's beneficial for the emcee to be well-known, sometimes it's better for them to be a stranger or an average audience-level person.
The key here is to match the emcee with your audience. Having an emcee with an adversarial audience relationship is a recipe for an ineffective event.

Isn't there
This is more to the point of: you need an emcee. A live emcee. Onstage. Reacting. Just having the "Voice of God" announcing the next presentation--one after another--gives the event nothing. It may not drain the energy for the event, but it allows the succession of presentations to be draining.

A good emcee:
Connects the dots
An ideal emcee is always making connections from one speaker to the next and illustrating relationships between content. They point out the "what's in it for me" for the audience; giving them a reason to listen to the next presentation and a bigger picture of how it relate to the previous presentation or content.

Is content-aware
To that point, and emcee with intimate knowledge of the content who can make a few comments, tell a relatable story from a different perspective, etc. is incredibly valuable. They can see where the presenter may not have connected completely with the audience and make a point to clarify the information. 

They would also know what the content is supposed to be throughout the broader meeting so they can make course-corrections or additions on the fly (i.e. "I know that X from marketing will be explaining more about the strategy behind this new product launch tomorrow afternoon.").

Is agile
Things happen in events--an emcee needs to be able to roll with the changes in a smooth way. Sometimes that means popping up on stage with no script to make a last-minute crucial announcement. Sometimes that means being handed a note and being able to assimilate the information in a coherent way for the audience. Sometimes it means someone asking the emcee to "say a few words about x" and having to come up with a bit of scripting on the fly. Sometimes it even means, "Our presenter is late, could you fill 5 minutes with audience interaction?"

Any way you look at it, an emcee who is familiar and comfortable with improvising is a huge asset.

Is able to maintain their energy
Professional emcees are trained (and train hard) to maintain their energy. It's exhausting to facilitate a multi-day event in a meaningful, engaging way. We've come across some internal emcees who are innately good at this--and it typically means that they are the first ones to duck out of the evening cocktails (networking events) to get a full night's sleep. So if your head of sales absolutely MUST be at the client event until the wee hours, they might not be the best choice for emcee even if they do have great energy.

Interacts with the audience
An event shouldn't be AT the audience, it should be WITH the audience. A great emcee is able to facilitate audience interaction--both scripted and unscripted--elicit audience input, and react on the fly. This can take place within the event on stage and during social/networking time.

Can control the room
To wit; interacting with the audience can be a tricky proposition. It's easy for things to get out of hand in, say, a raucous activity or in a room where there is some hostility or uncertainty toward the company. Q&A sessions can go awry, an audience member can end up monopolizing an activity, etc. 

A good emcee has a commanding presence, and also knows how to scale down the energy when things get too rowdy, or to deflect and re-direct when things get uncomfortable. 

Conversely, a good emcee also knows how to get the audience pumped up and engaged without seeming like they are dragging the audience along or pleading with them to participate.

Can host activities
An emcee also needs to be a variety of things: a game show host, a role play facilitator, a moderator, etc. Having someone who can assimilate rules and processes and get them consistently correct is essential for reducing confusion and having the whole activity run smoothly. It's also useful to have a host with a heaping helping of natural charisma--this goes along with controlling the room; they must also control the stage.

Is willing to rehearse
Along with willingness to rehearse the emcee should also have dedicated time to rehearse. The emcee needs to be very familiar with the technical bits and bobs that are going to crop up when they're onstage so it doesn't look like they're rehearsing AT the live event. 

Can be internal or external
We have very little bias toward external or internal emcees. Internal emcees tend to have more credibility with the audience and are able to draw on their own experience to connect the content dots. External emcees tend to have a deeper reservoir of energy and endurance (if only because they've trained for this very job...not the role of ALSO being the internal marketing guy or sales VP). As long as your emcee embodies several of the desired qualities, internal or external, they can be worked with.


Obviously we didn't cover everything here (Hint: do not choose an emcee who has severe and crippling stage fright or who isn't good with people), but selecting the right emcee can mean the difference in having an engaging event, or in having an event that flops.
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How to Acknowledge Sponsors...in a Song.



We come across this issue frequently--especially in forums, associations, or events with a showcase/tradeshow component: How does one give sponsors appropriate face time in the main event?

We've seen logos on the wall, in PowerPoints...we've had emcees and presenters thank them, we've had sponsor signs in break tables, etc. All of these things are good, but in addition to those we like to thank sponsors...in a song.

Not only is a parody song funny and engaging, but it ensures that every attendee is paying complete attention when the sponsor is getting their name-check. Sponsors are often very important and they deserve a little fanfare.

The video in this blog is Neighthan the Horse, thanking the sponsors to the tune of "My Favorite Things" at an event. Not only do they get a name check, but they also have a line about what they do--elevating the sponsor shout-out above a slide with logos and a round of applause.
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