7 Mistakes Amateur Emcees Make and How YOU Can Avoid Them

1. A Professional Emcee With Bad Beginnings

The corporate emcee your hire should understand the importance of introducing speakers on time and in a professional manner.

An amateur host or corporate event emcee may try to act funny while making these speaker introductions, bringing strange energy to the room.

But Why Is This A Problem?

You want the attendees at your event organization and corporate conferences to know that your speakers are important and bring immense value to the table.

Note: An intro is not the same as a bio. An event emcee with a plethora of huge success from emcee gigs and corporate hosting experience will know that difference well.

Solution:

A professional event emcee should prepare a brief yet engaging introduction for your keynote speaker or motivational speaker that sets him/her up in a positive way.

This Intro should tell the audience WHO the keynote speaker is, WHY the speaker has credibility, and WHAT the speaker will be sharing.

And, of course, all of this information should be delivered with enthusiasm! Nobody likes a boring corporate MC.

2. You Hire An Emcee Who Hogs the Spotlight

You definitely want to hire a Master of Ceremonies with personality, skills, and humor. Amateur MCs steal the event’s energy by using the program just to talk about how wonderful he/she is. Cringe!

A professional event emcee should talk up your company and the other speakers. They’re not the center of the world!

Besides, bragging isn’t funny or a way to entertain guests. It’s simply not a part of the job.

Instead, the services offered by the perfect emcee should be focused on engagement. Event emcees act as not just entertainment but as an extension of your company’s values.

Solution:

Work with an MC who “gets it.” They should know how to keep the spotlight on your organization while keeping the event running smoothly.

3. An Event Emcee Allows For A Naked Stage – Even A Virtual Event Emcee

The Master of Ceremonies you hire for the night is responsible for transitions between speakers, videos, and other segments at your corporate event, all while entertaining guests.

They may engage the audience during these transition times with talking points or fun activities inspired by game shows. Either way, they’ll make sure there is no dead air on the stage.

Solution:

Hire an emcee or event host with experience and high energy levels. Invite your speakers to be “on deck” and near the platform before they go up so they’re ready for their next play.

Even an online host should be able to fill the virtual stage, not drain it empty!

4. Time Overruns At Your Corporate Event Because Of Your Event Host

Your audience members like it when event emcees start and end your event program on time.

A weak emcee will allow the program to run long and will often insert too much of his/her own material into the agenda. This is a big no-no!

Solution:

Work with a professional Emcee who runs a tight ship. If a previous speaker runs over, an effective emcee will begin to move toward the platform and be ready to artfully interrupt the long-winded presenter to keep the event running in time for the next speaker.

5. Your Emcee Skips The Details Of Your Event, Leaving The Audience Confused And Uninformed

Your audience is hoping your virtual event emcee or host will tell them what to expect, where to go, and what to do next. Many amateur emcees forget to give attendees the event facts, like:

Where is breakfast? What time are the break-out sessions? How do I get the event app?

Solution:

Shortly after hiring, give your professional emcee or host the conference details. Remind your MC or host to share all of the announcements regarding Who? What? Where? Whens? with your group.

A good emcee should also be able to speak on behalf of emergency protocols. If an emergency occurs, the MC should be able to direct people to safety

You may think this isn’t a required part of the job, but every great MC will possess these important qualities.

6. The Audience’s Attention Is Overrun With Room Gloom

Your event guests want to feel entertained and energized at your event or panel discussion. Many emcees – namely weak emcees who require more emcee experience – will forget or fail to bring the “fun factor” that makes for a memorable and entertaining session for your audiences.

Bad emcees will let their stage fright get in the way of making proper eye contact, instigating audience interaction, and bringing life to the event. This is a surefire way to confuse the crowd and convince you that you went with the wrong MC.

Solution:

Most clients and C-level executives feel drained during long business meetings and general sessions. Make sure you have an experienced emcee who knows how to keep the audience interested and engaged with fruitful entertainment.

After all, that’s what you’re hiring them for, isn’t it?

Whether that’s through tasteful humor that keeps the audience laughing, stretching throughout the event ceremony, ice breakers for your in-person or virtual conferences, and more.

7. Your Corporate Emcee Fails To Communicate During the Planning Process

Your meeting, conference, gala, hybrid event, live event, or in-person event has many moving parts. It’s best to talk about the flow of your event program ahead of time with your virtual emcee or host.

Otherwise, the host speaking will come across as a bit nervous, lacking stage presence, and ultimately making for a painful experience altogether. But all of that could be avoided if you plan the event ahead of time!

If you hire a Master of Ceremonies who’s an amateur, he/she will try to “wing it” and present your corporate events on the fly without discussing/rehearsing each piece of your presentations first.

And let’s be honest – this just does a disservice to the people organizing the event. With a proper running order, those doing the public speaking, as well as those attending, will feel much more at ease and get a better sense of the night as a whole.

Solution:

Communicate with your corporate emcee long before your next event. Provide your host with a “run sheet” document that breaks down every part of your upcoming event, including the timing for each segment.

Lay out some event goals that you have in mind. Talk about what components will make this a successful event ceremony.

Create a tone of professionalism amongst your event emcees, speakers, event planner or planners, and attendees. Having this focus from the very beginning will help you formulate your ideas and keep everyone on track.

Final thoughts

Have all of your presenters and hosts meet for a talk-through at least one hour before the event begins. This way, everyone can have the opportunity to get on the same page and hear out the goals for the event.

Ultimately, it is every emcee’s absolute pleasure to serve your company best. Even their final words should reflect that they had a great time on the job!

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Adam Christing has been called “The Tom Brady of emcees.” He has hosted more than 1,000 company meetings, special events, gala celebrations, and more. He is the author of several books and founder of CleanComedians.com. For more event tips, follow Adam Christing on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube.