In this episode of Not the Same As Last Year, we look into the pivotal role an emcee plays in transforming your event from just another gathering to a truly Attendee-First experience. Clare, an experienced emcee herself, shares why an emcee is much more than a stage host—they’re the event's guiding light, ensuring every attendee feels seen, heard, and valued.

From setting the tone at the very beginning to keeping the energy up, an emcee is the key to creating a warm, engaging atmosphere that adapts to the needs of your audience. Clare discusses the unique challenges and opportunities in virtual and hybrid events, where the emcee’s role becomes even more crucial. Whether handling unexpected hiccups or facilitating meaningful connections, an emcee makes sure your event flows seamlessly and leaves a lasting impression on attendees.

If you’ve ever questioned the ROI of hiring an emcee, Clare makes a compelling case for why it’s a no-brainer investment for any event planner who truly prioritises the attendee experience.

Key Takeaways:

• An emcee is essential for creating an Attendee-First event.
• They set the tone, engage the audience, and make everyone feel included.
• In virtual and hybrid events, emcees are vital for maintaining engagement and connecting digital and physical spaces.
• A skilled emcee ensures a seamless flow, handles hiccups gracefully, and maximises audience involvement.
• Investing in a professional emcee delivers value by enhancing the overall attendee experience and leaving a positive impression of your brand.

Keywords: emcee, event planning, Attendee-First, event experience, virtual events, hybrid events, audience engagement, seamless flow, ROI, brand experience.

Ready to dive deeper? Download your free guide, five ways to elevate your attendee experience without breaking the bank HERE

Connect with Clare:

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1:02

hello and welcome back to not the same

1:03

as last year where we're going to be

1:05

talking about something very close to my

1:06

heart today how having an MC at your

1:09

event can make it truly attendee first

1:13

now I'm an MC also known as a moderator

1:15

a facilitator and obviously I've been

1:18

talking a lot in my episodes about why

1:19

we need to be attendee first and all the

1:21

different ways you can do it and it

1:22

would be remiss of me not to share why

1:25

people doing my job can be really

1:27

crucial to ensure that your event isn't

1:29

n just another B2B event but a memorable

1:33

experience for your attendees now you

1:35

may have been to events and you know

1:36

this already where the MC was really

1:38

important and helped make it attendee

1:40

first but you may have just seen MC's at

1:42

events and go well I I don't see that

1:44

they they stood on stage they introduced

1:47

people how was that attendee first and I

1:50

think it's because they've not been used

1:52

properly to be honest or they've not

1:54

been a good MC because you can get

1:57

really caught up in event planning with

1:59

things like the logistics the venue the

2:01

agenda the speaker or we've got a

2:03

moderator an MC but if you are really

2:06

focusing on how your event makes people

2:09

feel that's when your MC that you pick

2:13

will help that happen that's where they

2:15

will shine because it's it's about

2:17

thinking of the MC as the real Guiding

2:19

Light of the event I say my job is to

2:23

look after the attendees yes part of

2:25

what I do is introduce speakers keep the

2:27

schedule on track that kind of thing but

2:30

I'm also there to be that cond between

2:32

the audience and the event and the stage

2:34

if that makes sense so I want them to

2:37

feel seen and heard and valued so your

2:40

MC from the minute your attendees arrive

2:43

is going to be setting the tone for the

2:45

event making sure that people know that

2:47

it is an event where they're going to be

2:49

welcomed and connected I mean we talked

2:51

about that in last week's episode quite

2:53

a bit it's about the MC playing that

2:56

role of showing people this is your

2:58

event this is an tendy F first event so

3:02

let's talk about how you can create a

3:03

warm engaging atmosphere which as we

3:06

know is what we want we want people to

3:07

feel like that as an MC my role is to be

3:10

constantly thinking about the attendee

3:12

experience I need to be reading the room

3:15

adjusting the energy ensuring everyone

3:17

is involved now I can use humor I can

3:20

use storytelling Interac Dev elements

3:22

and I'm going to be working with the

3:24

event planners all the time before the

3:26

event to create a sense of community and

3:28

excitement there something isn't working

3:31

or needs adjusting that's what the MC

3:34

should be able to see and then pivot to

3:36

keep the focus on what is going to best

3:38

serve the audience and if you are

3:40

talking about virtual and hybrid events

3:42

the role of an MC becomes even more

3:45

vital in having an attendee first event

3:48

because in a virtual setting just

3:50

keeping people engaged is a challenge

3:52

and a skilled virtual MC can do a lot

3:55

more than just talking into the camera

3:57

they'll use all the polls at their at

3:59

their me means q&as live chats to keep

4:02

people really engaged the job is to

4:05

bridge the gap between the digital and

4:07

the physical spaces and making sure that

4:09

everyone no matter where they are is

4:11

included and involved so let's look at

4:13

how exactly having an MC is going to put

4:16

your attendees first so it's the

4:18

personalized engagement you can

4:21

literally be talking directly to the

4:22

audience you can be tailing your

4:24

interactions to fit their needs and

4:25

their preferences if you've just got a

4:27

session happening without anybody

4:28

moderating it there isn't this

4:31

opportunity to tailor it and to see okay

4:33

we've got less people in the room how

4:35

could we turn this now it's going to be

4:37

crazy if we've only got 10 people at the

4:38

back and 10 people at the front the MC

4:40

is going to say right come on everybody

4:41

we've got a smaller session today for

4:43

whatever reason people have been held up

4:45

in traffic or more people have chosen to

4:47

go to the other session and they will

4:49

then turn it more into an interactive

4:50

Workshop than it just being a speaker

4:53

talking to 20 people spaced out across

4:55

the room you can do that because you can

4:57

be adjusting the flow very quickly to

4:59

who's there go we're going to get more

5:00

attention this way I've seen it when

5:03

MC's have gone do you know what we've

5:05

got these people here we would have had

5:06

more people but there's a a networking

5:08

event going on in in kind of parallel

5:10

with it let's make this event as well as

5:13

an education session an opportunity for

5:15

networking and so they've brought

5:16

everybody to the front they've given

5:18

them all a drink they've made it more

5:19

inclusive and they've been able to do

5:21

that because that's the MC's role seeing

5:23

what's needed and making it

5:25

happen and it's also obviously to make

5:28

things fairly seem less within the event

5:30

keep sessions flowing into each other

5:32

explain why this session comes after

5:34

this session make it all make sense

5:36

that's a really important role of the MC

5:38

because it makes the attendee feel very

5:40

comfortable they then know what's going

5:42

they understand what's happening they

5:44

then feel more looked after and you have

5:46

that sense the attendee was a priority

5:49

and of course if things go wrong you

5:51

want to look to the MC as an organizer

5:53

as an attendee as a contributor to be

5:56

that person that's sort of look making

5:57

it all look seamless and happy and even

5:59

easy on stage handling any hiccups with

6:01

real Grace and then you feel okay this

6:04

is all in control because that's as

6:05

important to the attendee as it is to

6:07

the planner because if you think you're

6:09

witnessing a bit of a crash you you you

6:11

feel uncomfortable and awkward and you

6:12

don't want to stay and that's the last

6:14

thing you want you want your attendees

6:16

to stay and enjoy it and I think having

6:19

a professional calm MC to do that when

6:21

things go wrong is is very very

6:23

important and they are there so

6:26

importantly to be able to create

6:28

opportunities for attendees to get

6:30

involved in what's going on with the

6:32

content of the event so it can be just

6:35

facilitating some networking sessions or

6:37

really encouraging participation in

6:39

contributor sessions in after Keynotes

6:42

during panels so that people are less

6:44

passive and more active and we know that

6:46

when people are more active as a

6:48

participant the more they will enjoy it

6:50

the more the better the experience is so

6:52

it's all about this welcoming safe

6:55

inclusive atmosphere that your MC can

6:58

totally encourage and code into what's

7:00

happening so that every attendee is

7:02

going to feel super super comfortable

7:05

now I think that one of the issues with

7:07

um being an MC that I have probably

7:10

heard most is cost cost is always a

7:13

concern and sometimes um returnal

7:15

investment on hiring in another person

7:18

bringing in another supplier to your

7:20

event structure how can you prove their

7:22

value how can you understand that the

7:26

money you've spent on hiring an MC will

7:29

actually make your event attendee first

7:32

and so I'm going to say a couple of

7:33

things to you about

7:35

that when it comes to talking about

7:38

attendee experience the whole question

7:40

of return on investment is always going

7:42

to be a little bit trickier because if

7:44

you are measuring this purely on a

7:46

monetary basis then it might feel that

7:48

an MC and other elements of your um

7:52

event makeup are very high but it's

7:55

about considering the value beyond the

7:57

immediate profits such as new needs and

7:59

Partnerships or brand awareness and

8:01

other non-monetary wins that can be

8:03

directly gained from the event so if

8:06

you're employing an expert to keep the

8:07

momentum High the attendees engaged and

8:09

to bring together all the different

8:11

elements of your event into a really

8:13

coherent message then that represents

8:16

value for money because if you're

8:17

running an event and the audience is

8:19

front and center of all you do and they

8:21

leave with a great feeling about your

8:23

brand and they want to be part of your

8:25

community and become customers

8:27

eventually if not immediately then they

8:29

will get that from you having hired an

8:32

MC I'm hoping that if your goal is that

8:34

your attendees have a great experience

8:37

and they leave with fonded feelings

8:39

about your brand then the ROI of

8:41

investing in an MC is a

8:45

no-brainer so I hope you've enjoyed all

8:47

that and next week we're going to be

8:49

talking about something you may have

8:50

heard a little bit about the five

8:52

generations that are now in our

8:54

workplace and those five generations

8:56

they're going to be attendees at your

8:57

event how do you make sure that your

9:00

event is a 10d first for all these five

9:04

generations so we'll tackle that in the

9:07

next episode of not the same as last Year