How to Master the Ceremony:
Mga tips para sa mga bagong hosto.
Today, I was indulging myself to a GOT marathon on HBO,
quite excited for the new season on Monday when a friend’s message popped up on
FB. I was really going to ignore him, had I not opened the message up. I responded with a “Yo pre!” and then he
started bombarding me with questions regarding “hosting”.
Apparently, this guy, let’s call him Dong, was invited to
host their corporate mid-year convention, and was asking me for tips on
hosting. I gave him generic advices, like be confident or don’t be too serious,
initially intending to finish the conversation in three sentences, but Dong was
so makulit. I started missing a lot
of great scenes so I promised him that I was going to write him something he
can use. That shut him up for a few hours
until 5 minutes ago his name appeared on my phone again.
So, Dong, you know who you are, ito na pre. I wrote it down on my blog for future reference, just
in case, someone like you might ask me questions on this topic.
1. Know the nature of the Event
This is a no brainer. But it is the alpha in the omega, the young
pork in tocino, and the wonder in the woman.
As a host, alangan naman na mag “Ladies
and Gentlemen, it is my honor...” ka sa
isang kid’s party, tapos mag ala ‘Bozo
the Clown’ ka sa isang Wedding
reception. You got to know what event
you are attending in because everything starts on your knowledge of it. And
when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Lahat ng How To’s, diyan nag-sisimula.
Like, how to dress or suit up, how to prepare, how to leave your house
early so you won’t be late. Sometimes, veteran hosts like me tend to forget
this first and foremost consideration hosting for an event.
One time, I went to be an emcee in a singing contest only to
find out that it was a choral competition sanctioned by the Philippine Embassy.
Everyone was wearing tux and I was wearing a pair of jeans, t-shirt and a jacket.
It’s a faux pas where I looked like Super Mario surrounded Final Fantasy
characters. Yes, jologs! Buti na
lang, aside from being gwapo eh, medyo versatile ako. And I adjust pretty
quickly. I took my jacket off and acted like Simon Cowell (on his gray shirt
and jeans). Pinanindigan ko until the
very end, and somehow it was effective. Otherwise, they would not have invited me
for the same event the following year. But what if you’re not me?
2.
Prepare
not only your taxi fare
Ayun, if you can’t
adjust to situations like that pretty quickly, the best thing that you can ever
do is to PREPARE.
Dapat ang intensity
ng preparations is with the same
excitement you had when you were preparing for your field trip sa Enchanted Kingdom back in highschool.
Dapat, may baon ka!
Kung sa field trip
ay may dala kang Pritos Ring, Pompoms,
Richee, at Coleman water-jug na puno ng Tang na inumin mo daw, sabi ng nanay mo. Sa event naman, you need to
bring things like pen and paper (a
must), script, information about the person or entity that is celebrating. Huwag lang yung pamasahe isipin mo. When
you host an event that lasts for two hours,
kahit Boy Abunda level ka sa pag-ad lib, mauubusan at mauubusan ka ng
sasabihin. It always makes it easy if you have insights related to the
event right from the get-go. Examples nito:
1.
Ilan ang asawa nung nag se-celebrate ng 90th
birthday?
2.
Pang ilang boyfriend ni bride si groom?
3.
Magkano ginastos ng company sa convention na
ito?
Well, actually, exaggerated yang mga examples ko. Though it wouldn’t
hurt if you actually knew those things, haha. But what I’m really trying to say
is that you got to have insights about the event -thought provoking insights - because
a good event is an event where people learn something new. Hindi yung kakain lang then maghihintay na matapos ang event.
You can write these insights on index cards. Or kung ikaw ay techie na millennial, you can scribble it sa IPhone mo. It does not matter where. What matters most is that
it’s there at all – just when you needed it most (I know you’re singing it in
your head).
3. To Script or
not to script.
Which leads me to the next question – should you prepare a
script or not? Most of the other events hosts I know prefer to have a script
handy and some of them even want to just to read through it (or at least 30
minutes before the event starts). Ako,
I don’t really like scripts, especially if it was not developed by me. And I
have my reasons for that.
1.
Scripts take out the spontaneity out of my
head-turning face
2.
People try to look at the thickness of the
paperwork I’m holding to see how long till the event’s over.
3.
I get distracted when delivering ad libs, fearing
that I may split too far off the flow written on the script and I may not get
back.
So those are the main reasons why I am not a fan of scripts –
program flow lang, ok na sa akin.
However, there are events that you really need to have a working script,
especially, if the event is big enough to require you to give cues to the
production team. Example:
From an actual script
Tim: “Well
folks, I surely want to get my hands on the next prize! Who does not want a –
guess what – a brand new Laptop, courtesy of Acer Philippines!”
V: [Zoom-in
at “Laptop”: Laptop – Table 4]
FD: [Cue in: Mr. X to approach Tim]
Stage: [Cue
in: Follow spot – Mr. X approaching Tim to hand in the winner’s name.
Tech: [FOS: Acer Logo, Computer Logo, Specs]
Ushers: [Wake up from sleeping]
DJ: [Stop eating]
Director: [Focus on the event, not on the cute guests!]
Ok, so I just made those last three lines (ushers, DR, and
Director)up LOL. But, what I’m trying to show here is that, by saying “laptop”
and “Acer Philippines” a lot of things are happening on the stage. And you, the
host, and the rest of the team are holding the same script which serves us a
plan and a guide for the event to work out just fine.
So, oftentimes, this is a dilemma for me, if the script was
not given to me well ahead of the event. I miss to equip myself with insights
(remember tip #2), and the result is that not-my-best-hosting-gig to put in my resume.
What I normally do is that I discuss thoroughly the program flow with the
organizers, and if the script is not ready yet, I offer to provide inputs. In
some cases, like for example, in our company year-end party, I developed the
script myself, with the help of my co-hosts. Ok, pag ganun, kasi, you will be forced to know so much about the
event, the guests, the speakers, the contestants, lahat – lahat na. Your research, if conveyed in a proper and
entertaining manner, becomes informative and tends to keep your audience
interested.
So, speaking of keeping your audience interested, when you
do have a script for the event, try, as much as possible, not to read through
them when delivering your lines. Give spontaneity a chance to reveal your good
heart. Smile! Eye contact pa more! Because
unless you look like Piolo Pascual or Marian Rivera, mas gugustuhin na lang ng audience mo na ipa-Xerox yung papel na
hawak mo at sila na lang magbasa. That’s just the way it is. Sabihin mo nang ruthless naman ng audience, pero ganun talaga. If
you are in their shoes, tiyank ganun ka
rin. Always remember, people don’t come to an event for some story reading.
4. Prepare to go hungry
People come so they can witness the event, which according
to the Pakistan University (Pak-U) research, spend 69.69% of their time
focusing on you and anxiously waiting for the next thing you will say. Moreover,
Pak-U discovered that the remaining time is spent by audience on chatting with
each other, cheering on their contestants, eating and drinking, or day
dreaming.
Well, that was a joke. I have not heard of a Pak-U or any
research pertaining to such, and I don’t plan on googling it up. But what I’m
saying is that, as a host, you are an important part of the event as you have the
responsibility of keeping things moving. The people are focused on you as they wait
for the next thing to happen, and you, on the other hand, have to be focused on
the event itself. At the time you are up on stage, you should not be thinking
of anything else, not even food.
So I always come to an event I’m hos ting already full. On
wedding receptions, even if I am one of the couple’s friends and has an invite
as a guest, I would specifically tell them not to include me in the head count.
A host is part of the production or technical team. You should not consider yourself a guest at all, instead, someone
with a great power that comes with great responsibility to manipulate minds and
introduce your political agenda. Just kidding!
But seriously, kaya ka
nga host, kasi di ka guest. Ang labo naman kung host ka, pero guest ka – ano yun?
It’s like you’re Jake Zyrus, but you’re
also Charice. That’s so malabo mga ate’t kuya
Upon accepting the role as an emcee, you already commit yourself
to keeping your guests – which is your audience, satisfied. If the caterers do
their job with their food, you do yours with your words. In other words – laway lang ang puhunan. And the main ingredient for this is FOCUS.
Well actually, in my case, it’s my looks. But that has
always been contested.
Summary
So Dong, I hope
I have helped you with this one. Always remember, there really is no science to
events hosting – it’s an art, a skill that gets developed over time. The
practical tips I gave above may not be conclusive but those should be your main
considerations. I know it’s your first time doing this, but I trust that you
can pull it off. Pero, sabi mo nga,
mid-August pa naman ang event so if you have any qualms, or you think you
will fail miserably, you can always reach out to me. You know my number, and
you can just let my restless mouth do the job – (with a fee of course)
For other
people who have the same challenge, but are not up to it, you can leave it to
the expert. Send me a private message, reply to this blog, or DM me on twitter
@timothyjavier
