By Anne Bonney, CSP |

I attended four planning meetings.

I read through the run of show they sent me a week before.

I printed out the script they provided and made my own notes so I could eloquently present what they requested.

I color-coded my notes for quick reference so I could spend the maximum time connecting with the audience.

I even looked on YouTube for the pronunciation of names I wasn’t familiar with.

I got to the venue 10 minutes before they were expecting me, beaming like a straight A student who just aced a pop quiz.

I walked up to the organizer smiling, sure I would be her favorite emcee EVER, and the first thing out of her mouth was, “There have been some changes.”

…and all my planning went out the window!

As speakers, we know all too well how common last-minute changes are in the world of events.  When you’re keynoting, or leading a workshop, sometimes it impacts your timing or the number of people in the room, but the adjustments you need to make tend to be relatively minor.

When you’re an emcee, they can change the whole enchilada, as they did for me that day.  It wasn’t even an enchilada anymore.  It was a taco salad, and all I could do was smile, toss my prepared notes out the window, and do my best to understand and execute what they wanted.  (Spoiler alert, I got the gig again the next year!)

I believe being a great emcee requires a different mindset than presenting a keynote or workshop.  With a talk, you’re hired to present specific material, and that rarely changes.  As an emcee, your duty is solely to the event, not your content, and so whatever the event requires is what you need to do.

Before The Event

Figure out who you are as an emcee.  Can you lead super-fun games like Brian Walter, CSP, CPAE, or bring extreme cheer and sparkle like Rachel Sheerin?  Or are you the dignified business type like Kristin Arnold, CSP, CPAE, who can lead panels with international dignitaries and celebs like it’s just another day at the office?  Once you know your emcee style, you’re able to figure out if you can deliver what an event planner is looking for.

In order to do this, my first priority is to find out what vibe they’re looking for, what outcomes they want for their audience, and what a successful emcee looks like in their eyes.  Some meeting planners know exactly what they want and some just want someone other than the awkward, long-talker who was volun-told to be the emcee when they left the planning meeting to go to the bathroom!

• Are they looking for just announcements, introductions, and transitions?
• Do they want someone to do energizer activities between speakers? Games?  Networking activities?
• Do they need someone to tie the points together, anchoring the learning, and creating a common thread throughout their event?
• Are they looking for a panel facilitator? Or someone to conduct an interview-style presentation with someone who isn’t particularly comfortable presenting alone?
• Do they want “person on the streets” visibility on the trade show floor, videos during the social gatherings for social media posts, or other “between the scenes” type stuff?
• Would they appreciate someone to facilitate audience discussion after sessions to drive the key insights home and generate action items for after the event?

Imagination is the only limit to the possibilities, and you can make yourself very useful throughout the event, potentially making you the face of that event!  (Chat with Quinn Conyers about year-after-year emcee bookings…something not too common in keynoting!)

I tend to roll out my offerings when we’re first chatting about an opportunity, so the meeting planner can consider different options as they’re finalizing the agenda.

At The Event

Flexibility is key.  “Sure!  I can do that,” is always my mantra (within the bounds of decency, of course!)  No matter how many times plans change, I will ALWAYS show up as prepared as possible.  That preparation, even if it’s completely scrapped, helps me get in the mindset of the event and their thought process.  It’s never wasted, even though it can be really frustrating.

• Be present and pay attention, and don’t get married to anything until you’re on stage and ready to say it (Even then, it can still change!  Wheeee!)
• I ask a lot of questions and rephrase things to be sure I understand what they’re asking me to do. Then I ALWAYS add it to my notes because inevitably I’ll forget when I’m up on stage giving them the Razzle-Dazzle!
• I have a system for the way I write my notes that I use consistently. This way, I know what I’m looking at when I’m on stage, and I don’t have to reinterpret random chicken scratch, especially when things change and I’m a little frazzled.

Bottom line, being a great emcee means being a detective, endlessly in pursuit of what success looks like for the event organizer and relevant stakeholders (which can be a moving target!).  I’ve been involved in agenda creation months before an event, and I’ve been given the script an hour before.  Be ready, be open, be flexible, and reconsider your desire to emcee if you’re cringing right now!  It’s a blast, but it can be a harrowing blast!

Want more on emceeing?  Be on the lookout for the NSA Whitepaper written by Jess Pettitt, CSP, Pat Dwyer, and many other amazing NSA emcees.  Stay tuned!