Virtual Event Emcee Tales from the Soul

This past year took us for a wild ride in the event space and, of course, the world! That being said, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities to collaborate with smart, creative folks in executing virtual events and engaging audiences throughout the year. Many of my clients were producing virtual events for the very first time, with no other choice than to take their in-person events to an online setting during the pandemic.

From that very first call with a prospective client through to delivering virtual events today, I am delighted to be a pioneer in this evolution in the online event space. Providing solutions that enable clients to communicate their messages in engaging, powerful ways has been exciting, and at times, overwhelming (smiles, tears). I learned early in conversations that many planners weren’t entirely sure how to approach their virtual event planning. They looked to me to share what has worked well in other events I’ve hosted and emceed.   

Having hosted and emceed over 100 virtual events, I've learned some important lessons, and at the same time confirmed what I already knew to be essential components in crafting events that move audiences to connect and act.

Energy, Soul and Connection

There's a longing inside each of us to connect and feel moved and inspired. From the very first virtual event that I hosted from my webcasting studio in 2020, it was obvious that people longed to connect in this virtual world. Several years ago, I hosted a series of sales training live broadcast virtual events from a studio. People wanted to connect. I feel it every time I log on to host a virtual event from my home webcasting studio today. I am here to connect everyone to the soul of the event.

It’s all about the energy, soul and connection as the MC and event host! What are you bringing to this online experience that energizes and inspires people? The audience wants to feel something, which is why a beautifully played song, an emotional film, a thought-provoking play, hilarious improv or a stirring dance connect us to our humanity.

What does it mean to connect audiences to the soul of an event? For starters, my essence as a warm, compassionate human being breaks down barriers immediately. Focusing diligently on every word of the speakers, every chat comment and question, taking notes, recapping and connecting messages, themes and key points in my responses, reactions, and comments lets audiences and speakers know they've been heard and that they're participating in a collaborative experience.

You have one chance to connect with your audience. Acknowledging the reality that we are physically distant but still connected in this experience together, encouraging everyone to interact in every way possible, and then building excitement is key. It is my responsibility to bring soul and energy to the people no matter the event environment or delivery type - live streaming virtual, in-person, hybrid, or even pre-recorded segments. Engaged, energized audiences are moved. Your audience deserves to be moved.

Be in the moment

As the host, I am a connector of the message and themes to the people, and of the people to the event and speakers. By monitoring chat and calling out their comments and questions, even if it's folks commenting on the weather or where they're from, that draws people in. Attendees may have distractions at home or wherever they're watching from, so the more you can snap them back into, oh, this is a live streaming event and things are happening in real time, the better. People want to be heard and they want to feel appreciated.

So how can we reach an online audience? I believe acknowledging the reality that we're physically distant, but still connected in the experience together can be important. Just a brief sentence allows the awareness of reality and draws people in. After all, our lives have been changed massively. This will become less so as the pandemic eases, but acknowledging that some people, say in a hybrid event, are watching remotely and some are right there is important to draw them in to the experience.

Beyond showing empathy, what I do is focus on the heart of what the speakers are saying and the theme of each event to bring cohesion, energy and engagement to the audience, monitoring chat, calling out people's names with their comments and questions, helping to make their online experience so much more personal and human.

That personal, human connection is what people really want. So, by bringing people in, looking directly at the camera into the hearts of people who are watching and participating in the event, a good emcee can really enhance that human connection.

Listen and React 

It's so important to listen and react, focusing on the main points and the heart of what the speakers are saying. As an emcee, I focus on the big picture ideas, the theme of the event, key messages of speakers, and when you are listening and reacting in a Q&A format, this is essential. When you're responding to a speaker who's answering a question, it doesn't have to be long, but your comments should be about something that connects the audience back to what the speaker has just said.

And at the end of the each day, the final session or entire event, summarizing at least a few highlights is a very good idea. In fact, if there is enough time, say five to 10 minutes for the MC’s final comments, you can really develop an extensive summary based on your notes throughout the sessions.

There is a lot of quick thinking going on in your brain and multitasking is important when you're managing a virtual event as an emcee. There's so much that you are responsible for. Not only do you have the program feed up on your screen, you're usually also getting direction from the production team, asking questions to the speakers and the panel, monitoring chat and comments from the attendees.

As far as content questions, they’re usually directed towards the speaker or panel, and the MC is the facilitator between the attendee and the speaker. Typically, speakers are so busy with their content and do not have the bandwidth, quite honestly, to monitor the chat. So that's where the emcee comes in as the bridge between the people and the speaker.

The emcee is ready to go at any moment.  Is the live or pre-recorded speaker still talking? Is there unexplained or awkward silence? An event host is always on, even when they’re not on camera, on stage or speaking! What if someone drops off, freezes, or loses their connection in the middle of a virtual event? The emcee steps in to fill the space, lighten the mood, let folks know what’s happening and what we’ll do next.

Example - A speaker dropped off during a virtual summit - no audio, then no video. So, I stepped in to smooth things over, let folks know that we’re trying to get the speaker back, but if not, we’ll record his presentation and share it with everyone after the event. And, that’s exactly what we decided, as the client quickly let me know by messaging while I was on-camera chatting with attendees that the speaker was unable to re-connect. We moved up the prize drawing, I congratulated the winner and announced that we would end this segment a little early, allowing attendees a chance to network, visit sponsors, and take a break.  

Focus, Facial Expressions

To show engagement, facial expressions and eye contact is extremely important. Slight nodding is a good idea. However, I had a production person caution all speakers on an event not to go overboard with the head nodding. If you're an enthusiastic person with lots of facial expressions, as I am, it's a conscious effort to minimize head movement, as that can be very distracting on camera when you need to stay within a certain window.

An excellent emcee is super focused, listening, reacting, thinking about what you are going to say next, but not worrying about it. So that's where being in the moment with flexibility, flow, ease and grace is key. I would venture to say that experience in meditation and even dance helps in my ability to do that, to get to the place where I'm in flow deep within, allowing me to be completely in the moment.

Should an emcee change his or her look, demeanor and reactions based on the topic? Absolutely. For example, I hosted a MG Illuminate event about a neuromuscular condition in which people shared their stories about dealing with MG, myasthenia gravis. There was a doctor/patient discussion that was very sincere with moments of lightness from both the doctor and the woman sharing. However, overall, there was a serious note about the struggle that this woman had been through and the compassion and empathy showed on my face.

I was visibly moved and had tears in my eyes, which can encourage the audience to let out their emotions, just like when you're watching a TV show or a movie where something is emotional and you feel free to react fully and deeply.

Setting the tone:

When hosting an award ceremony, the tone is very upbeat and celebratory and that goes for a virtual or in person event. It's very exciting. People are getting recognition for jobs well done. And it's my role to bring everything together with energy and excitement. Whether you or someone else within the organization is giving the actual award, the MC brings energy and excitement! 

The emcee will listen carefully to the tone of a speaker and play off of that. If they're a person who jokes around a lot, you want to riff off of what they just said by giving a little jab or making a joke, referencing what they said as something funny or laughing. That goes a long way.

Some people get very nervous on camera. As the host, you can really help to make the speakers comfortable. You are usually meeting them ahead of time, whether it's in a rehearsal or sometime before you go live. You want to get to know them, which can really help soften and open up their comfort and conversation.

One speaker shared with me after going live that his six month old lab had been on the floor the entire time in the room and was exceptionally quiet. So when we came back on screen, I actually referenced the pup and shared with the audience that the dog had been so quiet, and that's an example of an endearing tidbit that can draw people in.

Another example is a speaker who had a dog barking a few times when he was talking, not crazily distracting, but you could hear it. When I came back on camera, I asked what the dog's name was. And then, attendees started referencing the dog's name in the comments and even asking for a repeat performance. We created a moment of engagement about something that's universally relatable.

Timekeeper

Time is definitely a factor during events. One of your roles as an emcee and event host is as a timekeeper. So you watch that time and gracefully come in when it's appropriate. Of course, there are instances when sessions run long, and perhaps the speakers have really gotten onto a certain topic or tangent and gone over by a few minutes and you have to tactfully decide when it makes sense to come in without being rude and just completely knocking them off their thoughts.

At that point, you need to adapt, and communicate with the client behind the scenes and decide: do we still come back at four o’clock or whenever the next time is that we're scheduled to start again? Or do we push that back a bit? Maybe there's some wiggle room in the agenda that allows you to add an extra three minutes and make up the time later. It's always a good idea to stay on target with your time, as there are expectations set with agendas and people may have organized their days around that.

This article was originally published and posted on Presentingamy.com:

https://www.presentingamy.com/blog/post/virtual-event-emcee-lessons-learned