Be a Good Master of Ceremonies

A master of ceremonies (also known as an MC or emcee) is the official host for a staged event, performance, or party. Normally, a master of ceremonies introduces speakers, makes announcements, and engages with the audience to keep the ceremony agenda flowing as smoothly as possible. While being a master of ceremonies might seem like a daunting task, there are a few ways you can nail your responsibility as MC, and radiate confidence and charisma to keep the ceremony entertaining for all.

Steps

Preparing Before The Event

  1. Know your event. Knowing your event is important for all types of ceremonies, whether it’s a wedding, graduation, bar mitzvah, celebrity roast, etc. The type of event will dictate the type of atmosphere you, the MC, need to create. Knowing what’s going on, what should be talked about and what is coming next is key to being a successful MC.
    • Consider meeting with the people organizing the event, and going over the planned structure and reviewing the itinerary of the event in detail.[1]
  2. Know your responsibilities. The MC is responsible for creating and sustaining the intended atmosphere throughout the event. The intended atmosphere may vary depending on the type of event, although most events that hire an MC are looking to create a fun and energetic atmosphere. As MC, your main responsibilities include:[2]
    • Keeping the event flowing and bridging between segments of the event.
    • Keeping the interest of the audience and make sure they’re having fun.
    • Helping the audience feel respected and engaging with them during the event.
    • Helping the speakers feel valued.
    • Keeping the event on time.
    • Keeping everyone updated on what is happening at the event.
  3. Know your role expectations. Being an MC means that you have a great sense of humor, you can work a crowd, and you’re a practiced public speaker.[3] This means that you have to be prepared to improvise, so you can react efficiently to whatever that may arise. For example, you may have to momentarily entertain the audience while waiting for the next speaker to get out of the bathroom or for the broken microphone to be replaced.
    • Remember to smile. Smiling reinforces the fun and lighthearted ambiance of the event, and makes you appear to be an enthusiastic MC.
    • Keep in mind that just because you’re the MC, you are not the celebrity of the show. You are supposed to make others feel like they’re the stars of the show.
  4. Do your research. Contact your key speakers to find out some background information on them, and use that information to prepare your introductions for the speakers. This background research will help you construct introductions that sound more personal and genuine.
    • Find out if there are any special audience members who should be recognized during the event.[1]
    • Make sure you review everyone’s name and title so you know how to say it on stage when the time comes to make their announcement.[3]
  5. Stay organized. Create or review a given agenda for the event, and plan out, minute by minute, the event schedule. Take into consideration the time it takes to get on and off the stage, make introductions for guests, and speeches or thank yous from guest members.[2]
    • Consider making a rough script of what you’re going to say throughout the night. This script is something that you can memorize, have small notecards to keep yourself on task, or have an outline projected throughout the event for you to follow.[3]
    • It may be helpful to tell the lead organizer of the event that, as MC, you’re only going to answer to one person in charge. If any changes need to be made to the program, the only way you are going to allow that to happen is if the one person in charge approves the changes. This will reduce mix-ups and miscommunication during the event, and help the event run smoother.[4]

During The Event

  1. Remain calm. Being an MC is a lot of pressure. The event’s success is largely contributed to how well the MC keeps things on track. While the event’s proceedings can get hectic, it is important to remain calm and focus on maintaining your MC persona. To keep your cool, try:
    • Continuing on if you mess up. Stopping will only make your mistake that much more obvious. Try to roll with the punches and continue on from your mistake. If you do this successfully, the audience will most likely forget your misstep.
    • Finding a spot to look at while talking. Looking at the individual audience members might make you more nervous while speaking. Instead, try looking over the heads of the audience members to reduce intimidating one on one eye contact.
    • Slowing down with your words. Nothing shows you’re more nervous as an MC, than talking too quickly. Talking too quickly can lead to mispronunciations and stuttering, which can affect people understanding you. Take your time, and pause slightly in between sentences.
  2. Prepare the opening of the event. Introduce yourself and welcome the audience to the event. Identify the specific, principal groups of your audience, and welcome them individually. These welcomes don’t need to be long-winded, but they do need to be authentic.
    • For example, you might say something like, “To all of our Packer fan dairy farmers who traveled all the way from Wisconsin and had to drive through Bear territory to get here, a warm welcome.”[2]
  3. Introduce the speakers. The MC has the key responsibility of introducing different speakers that come up on stage, as well as other key people at the event. The more pertinent a guest is, the more detailed and tailored your introduction of them should be.[1] Once you have made your introduction for a speaker, lead the audience in applauding the speaker until they reach the speaking microphone. When the speaker is finished giving their speech, lead the audience again in applause until the speaker is off the stage and on their way back to their seat.
    • Since one of the biggest responsibilities as MC is to keep the event running on time, don’t be afraid to notify a speaker if they are past their assigned time. You can try to give them a note or give them some kind of visual cue, such as spinning a finger pointing upward to try and communicate to “wrap it up.”
    • Before you go on to introduce the next segment, thank the speaker for their presentation, and lightly touch on something they mentioned while speaker on stage. This reference can be something that was funny, interesting, or stirring.[1] This shows you are an attentive MC, and it confirms the value of the speaker’s presentation.
  4. Bridge between segments. Connecting one segment to the next can be easier by using some humor to bridge the two. Before the event starts, try to prepare some talking bits like remarks, anecdotes, or jokes that can be used in between segments.[1] Also, comment on what just happened. Try and find something funny or meaningful about the previous speaker or performance, and transition from there onto the next speaker or performance.
    • If you find yourself in an awkward spot, try asking your audience questions. Questions should be kept to a “yes” or “no” answer, but by asking questions, you can keep your audience engaged and focused, while reinforcing your command as MC.
    • Nothing is worse than an MC not acknowledging something that just occurred on stage. It gives the impression that the MC isn’t aware of what is going on.
    • If the event is a few hours long it could be helpful to give a short summary of the performances and presentations that have occurred during breaks in the action. You could also disclose what’s to come next.[3]
  5. Be prepared for anything. As mentioned earlier, a great MC must always be on their toes. Live events are notorious for having slight hiccups: a server might spill a drink, the wrong music might play, or the scheduled speaker might be on their way back from the bathroom. Keep control of the event by being ready to smooth over any distractions or mishaps to keep the mood light.[3]
    • If something goes wrong or someone is acting unruly, the MC must stay positive.
    • Remember that it’s not your job to reprimand someone, it’s your job to keep things running smoothly in spite of something going wrong. An MC having a negative attitude in any way, would be extremely distasteful and inappropriate.
  6. Close the event. Your closing of the event should be as exciting and sincere as your opening. Normally to close the event, the MC thanks all of the attendants, speakers, and performers. It’s good manners to also thank everyone who helped to put the event together. Summarize what took place at the event and what was learned, and then depending on what kind of event it was, encourage the audience members to take action.[1]
    • This could mean coming again for the next gathering, donating money, or continuing to pioneer in a certain field. Whatever it may be, encourage for the audience to participate.

Tips

  • Be confident and relate to the crowd.
  • Smile. Look like you're happy to be there.
  • Come prepared, but don't make it sound like you're reading from a script.
  • In time of delays add some facts, jokes, current affairs, etc. to avoid awkward silence.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 http://members.shaw.ca/toasted/mc.htm
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140611053052-12308251-how-to-be-a-brilliant-master-of-ceremony
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 http://www.colorado4h.org/events_opportunities/state_fair/packet/HintsForBeingSuccessfulMC.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.speakernetnews.com/post/emcee.html
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