Thanks to Irene Ang, some of us got to be play guests at HP product launch earlier this evening, where she was the resident host. The best way to learn - as I have always advocate - is to watch and observe. So today was quite an eye opener as we see our teacher in action. I picked up a couple of hosting pointers which I want to share with all of you.

1. Build Relationship With Key People
In every event, there are important people that you need to pay attention to. As a host, you got to do your homework. Research the person on the net. Talk to his or her staff. Get to know who he or she. If you have the chance, make it a point to introduce yourself and get to know him or her during the actual event. The whole point is to build relationship with them so that when you introduce the person, he or she doesn’t feel foreign to you. In addition, when the audience sense familiarity between you and these key people (who very often are their bosses or bosses’ boss), they will also begin to see you as one of them, and thus warm up to you.

Oh and one more thing, as a host, you are not the center piece. The guest speaker is. Or the product that the company is launching. So always make THEM the star! Not you.

2. Always Smile
A smile is the shortest distance between you and a roomful of strangers. When you smile from ear to ear (with sincerity of course), the audience immediately warm up to you. Even if you miss a line, smile it off and proceed. It’s fool proof! It was hard to catch Irene not smiling today. See, that is what separates the professionals from the amateurs.

3. Play Simple Games (and)…
make them feel good about themselves! Remember, you are their cheerleader. Get them high! During game sessions, never ask difficult questions at the start, as you will discourage them from participating. Instead, ask questions that are so simple that even a three year old can answer. The whole point of the game is to break the ice and get them excited. So there is no point in demoralizing them. Can you imagine if you are a host at a clubbing event where your audience just want to dance and chill, and you ask an IQ question like “How do you sell ice cubes to an eskimo?”

4. Q & A as a platform to promote event/product
This is in line with my point about making the person or product the star. So even if you are conducting a game quiz, always tie it back to the product, person or the intent of the event. For example, if you are hosting for a company retreat and the intent was to familiarize the employees of the company core values, you want to reinforce them during your quiz.

Host: So who can tell me one of the core values of your company?
Employee: Trust
Host: Very good, say that again so that all of us can hear it.
Employee: TRUST.
Host: So tell me, how can you display trust in your company?
Employee: (blah blah blah)

Got it?

Come to think of it, hosting is no different from giving a presentation. Tip #1 reinforces the point about knowing your audience. Tip #2 is an age old advice for all speakers, especially the nervous ones. Tip #3 is also about being audience-centric and being appropriate. If it is a after-dinner speech, you really don’t want to bore your audience with hardcore tips. They just want to be entertained. Tip #4 is about focus. Every speech must have a focus, a message and everything you go got to be aligned to that message else you will be seen as an amateur.

Was hoping to upload more pictures but Irene was way too captivating… and I end up watching her host from start to end. Sorry guys. Another time.

Besides me are three pretty babes - Irene, Charissa and Shumin.

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