Being An Event Host – Tip No. 39 – Don’t Do This (2)

London, UK

At a well-known educational establishment in London, I took my seat with eighty or so others in a lecture hall. We had gathered to hear an author describe the rationale behind his latest book. Before he got up on stage a portly gentleman tried to hush the audience by speaking into the microphone….or rather trying to speak to the microphone. He clearly had no idea how to project his voice…several seconds passed before someone came along to alter the angle on the microphone so our friend didn’t have to stoop down in order to make himself heard…..but what followed was far worse – he uttered those immortal words “can you hear me at the back” with the usual sarcastic and drawn out “yes” being the reply from the now irritated audience. This mess up only took about a minute but it ruined the beginning of the lecture.

Introducing someone needs practice, professionalism and the ability to work closely with technicians. If none are there, then it’s the Master of Ceremonies or host’s responsibility to check the microphone and other equipment beforehand…simple really but all too often people do themselves a huge disservice by not paying attention to detail.

Tags: events

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