Emcee Singapore: There are some great resources out there to help conference speakers give better talks, but fewer for people who are preparing to take on the role of an emcee for conferences. Even though the tips here will help you, please note that there is no substitute for finding an approach that fits you and lets you be yourself.

1. Enjoy Yourself

Try and relax, and remember that the audience want you to succeed. When you remember that you’re not hosting the Oscars, and that people are very happy with you being human and personable, it gives you license to relax and talk to the room as if everyone is your friend. That’s liberating and helps you to be more natural.

2. To err is human

While we all want things to run as smoothly as possible, mistakes do happen. Don’t panic or let them throw you off too much. Owning mistakes and communicating them honestly to the audience can be a feature rather than a bug. It also helps them trust you and be on your side.

Many highlights can come from some silly mistakes emcee Singapore have made on stage, like giving the wrong information and being corrected by the audience. It’s fine. We’re in it together. Have a little fun with it.

3. Technical Difficulties

It’s really common for there to be technical difficulties during a conference. They often only take a few moments to resolve, but they can occasionally drag on and become a little uncomfortable.

As a speaker it is horrible to think that you are on your own to fix things while a room full of people impatiently watches on. As an emcee, you can help enormously by being ready to jump in if it looks like things might need some time and concentration from the speaker, or if a helpful member of the audio-visual team is sprinting to the stage.

Stepping back on the stage to provide a little buffer can help. No need to panic. Often just a little company on stage and some headspace is all that is required. Keep a few notes ready, things like news and announcements for the audience. Where will the refreshments be later? Who are the sponsors and where can you find them? What are the details for the social later on? Those kinds of things. You may need them at the start of the next break anyway, but you can buy a little time for the speakers and save time for later by being ready to share that at this “handy opportunity.”

Even when there isn’t a problem, the speaker might still take a little time to plug in their laptop, be certain that they can see their speaker notes, and so on. If the conference does need each speaker to plug in as they come to the stage, iinvite them up while you introduce them, and then check that they are ready when it looks like they have stopped tinkering with their setup. This doesn’t need to be a secret from the audience. “It looks like Rose is ready to go. Are you all set? Excellent! OK, a big round of applause please, for…”

4. Practice all the names

A mistake that makes anyone uncomfortable is botching somebody’s name when introducing them. That is a bit of a fear many emcee Singapore still have and even the best have done it many times despite their best efforts. Watch YouTube videos of all the speakers to get a sense of what they’ve spoken about in the past, and also as a chance to listen to how they introduce themselves. Then practice them out loud and write them down phonetically if they are tricky.

If you find a name particularly difficult, you can even use the voice recorder on your phone to capture how they pronounce it on YouTube, or your own best try, and then have it ready as a last-minute primer just before you need it.

H/T: css