Greetings!
Thank you for reading and sharing this with people you think may learn from it... I truly appreciate that! I have been a performer for the better part of 25 years. I am 33 years old today. In the past decade, I have been doing the other facet to performing, which is to host.
Over my time performing I have been a singer, dancer, stepper (wasn't very good at stepping, but I stepped hard), and a spoken word artist. The mantle of host or master of ceremonies (MC for short) was one I took up in more recent times. Having watched literally hundreds of spoken word shows (usually open mics) one of the things that have been absolutely critical to the success of the show has been the strength and tenacity of the host or MC.
I feel like the host is sometimes more important than the performers themselves. The host sets the tone, the mood for each performance that follows. A bad host can put the audience to sleep, even cause them to leave or totally ignore the upcoming performance. A good host brings the audience to the edge of their seats drooling for more. The host warms up the stage adequately so that the performer has the attention and energy of the audience without having to get it up.
Weddings have also become part of my MC'ing repertoire. Thus far, I have had nothing but complements from my clients... I am sincerely looking forward to the next one!
I have compiled a list of 7 Do's and 7 Don'ts I think are vital in being a good, if not an excellent host!
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DO'S:
1) DO watch your audience. This is crucial. Why you may ask? You want to have the attention of the audience. You want to know that they are right there with you and holding on to your words. If you can get the attention of the two guys laughing loudly at the bar, and keep them with you. Wooh! You're good! But you want to use your charisma, your charm, your wit and energy to hold your audience's focus on the stage!
2) DO prepare yourself before going onstage. Nothing is worse than being unprepared for a gig. You should know all the vital information about the event, before the event occurs. Even if you sit down for ten minutes before the doors open and go over a list of things to talk about while onstage, make sure you do that. Practice the 7 Ps rule: Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
2b) weddings - DO meet with your clients and find out about them. You should know a little about how they met, how they proposed to one another. I find that the best wedding hosts knows a little about the couple without talking too much. Plus, if they feel connected to you, they are more likely to have fun. Also, if you are working alongside the DJ, coordinate with them to ensure that the music that is to be played is the right one. If you have a personal relationship with them, know some of their likes and dislikes, you can have a really good time at the wedding!
3) DO watch your favourite comedians, preferably one that interacts with the audience. This type of performer is one of my favourites. Timing and interaction with your audience is crucial in winning them over and ensuring they are having a good time.
4) DO Involve your audience! When participating in open mics, I find that the shows are more interesting when your audience is involved. Here in Montreal, our audiences seem to be very respectful and quiet. In New York, I find that they tend to be more involved in the show. When I saw this in NY, I brought it back with me. I started my Open Mic Soirée Intimes back in 2011 and this was crucial to incorporate into the performances. We had a catch phrase to welcome each performer onto the stage. We gave the audience permission to be actively participatory in the show, hoot, holler, ouuu and aaahh as much as possible!
5) DO dress the part. You should represent yourself and the organization you are working with well. Look like you have a purpose. This doesn't necessarily mean dressing in a three piece suit, but it doesn't hurt. Know your event a coordinate efficiently and accordingly. If you're hosting a wedding, a suit is a very good idea, clean and sharp. An open mic can be more casual, but still carry yourself with class. No for your audience, but for yourself. Confidence is everything. Sometimes dressing right just exudes that confidence even more, and your audience senses it.
6) DO be up to date about current affairs, knowing what's going on in society today, so that if you're ad-libbing between performers and the platform allows you to send a message about a particular issue your audience might be interested in knowing, or you want to make a joke reference about someone, remaining current allows you to be on a wavelength the audience can ride on.
7) DO be clear on the rules of your event if they have any, some open mics are strict about their time limits, as are all Poetry Slams. Repeat the rules ever so often, and ensure that they are clear. Then, follow through with your rules. If you have a performer, especially in the case of Open Mics, that is going over time, and you're being nice so you're giving them the benefit of the doubt and 30 seconds over time, turns into a minute, turns into two minutes, you might want to either signal them off stage or go onstage and remove them. If that is what you're going to do, this has to be in your rules from jump. Otherwise the artist might get really pissed. The audience may also react negatively. (Or they might secretly be thanking you for it). I find that the audience's attention span for regular open mic is about 5-6 minutes. Any longer than that, and they start losing focus and wondering who is next. You can see it by the slow glossing over of their eyes. So always follow rule number 1 in this case.
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1) DON'T waste time onstage. The audience needs you to move the story forward, not make it into a cesspool. As an MC you are the pauses between the paragraphs which are the performances. You're supposed to make this dialogue between audience and performer smooth. You should actually take no more than 3-5 minutes to wrap up the previous act, and bring on the next one. If you are inspired to perform a piece between acts, don't do more than one piece at any one time, and don't do more than 2-3 pieces with a 10 open mic'er set. One piece every 2-3 performers, is fine.
2) DON'T expect your audience to remember anything. If you have a particular catch phrase, don't expect the audience to remember it. They need time to get into your groove and understand what you're doing. Make fun, encourage them to repeat it again and again.
3) DON'T repeat the exact same words over and over. I am not talking about the catch phrase or call and response. I mean things like "Coming up next we have..." for every single performer. This is a pet peeve I have. It just sounds so redundant and uncreative. It's the MC equivalent to the valley talk of "Like, you know, ohhhhhh my gosssshhhh..." this makes my skin crawl. You can use coming up next for one or two of your performers, non-sequentially, but after that, come on, expand your vocabulary.
4) DON'T make fun of your performers' performance. If it was bad, the audience will see it and will give an appropriate response. However, if your audience is booing a performer or any other form of negative feed back, you shouldn't let them. Unless it was a blatant misogynistic, racist, sexist, or otherwise insulting people for any reason, remind the audience how difficult it is to come up onstage in front of strangers and bare your soul.
5) DON'T take yourself too seriously, you're only human. If you make a mistake, turn it into a joke. Let the audience make fun of you because of it. It will get them on your side. Everyone likes to poke fun at people they like, and they'll call you out on things that you do wrong or right. Go with the flow and always be lighthearted.
6) This said DON'T get overly emotional. By this I mean attacking your audience in a blatant way, this will turn your audience against you. If for example, someone in the audience is unduly heckling a performer don't get worked up about it. Get your security or someone else to ask the audience member to leave and then get back to the program.
7) DON'T forget to thank everyone. Publicly. It's a sign of humility and grace. Thank your audience for coming out. Thank your venue for allowing you to use their space (whether you are paying them or not). Thank your performers for stepping up to the mic. Thank your people working with you, the DJ, the door lady or gentleman, the caterer if you have one and the staff of your venue. It's a little accent that really makes people feel appreciated.
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Thank you very much for reading, if you have any questions or comments I look forward to reading and responding to them!
Warmest regards,
See you on the other side!
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Kym Dominique-Ferguson
The Jamhaitianadian
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