1:02

hello and welcome back to not the same

1:03

as last year where we're going to be

1:05

talking about something very close to my

1:06

heart today how having an MC at your

1:09

event can make it truly attendee first

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now I'm an MC also known as a moderator

1:15

a facilitator and obviously I've been

1:18

talking a lot in my episodes about why

1:19

we need to be attendee first and all the

1:21

different ways you can do it and it

1:22

would be remiss of me not to share why

1:25

people doing my job can be really

1:27

crucial to ensure that your event isn't

1:29

n just another B2B event but a memorable

1:33

experience for your attendees now you

1:35

may have been to events and you know

1:36

this already where the MC was really

1:38

important and helped make it attendee

1:40

first but you may have just seen MC's at

1:42

events and go well I I don't see that

1:44

they they stood on stage they introduced

1:47

people how was that attendee first and I

1:50

think it's because they've not been used

1:52

properly to be honest or they've not

1:54

been a good MC because you can get

1:57

really caught up in event planning with

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things like the logistics the venue the

2:01

agenda the speaker or we've got a

2:03

moderator an MC but if you are really

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focusing on how your event makes people

2:09

feel that's when your MC that you pick

2:13

will help that happen that's where they

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will shine because it's it's about

2:17

thinking of the MC as the real Guiding

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Light of the event I say my job is to

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look after the attendees yes part of

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what I do is introduce speakers keep the

2:27

schedule on track that kind of thing but

2:30

I'm also there to be that cond between

2:32

the audience and the event and the stage

2:34

if that makes sense so I want them to

2:37

feel seen and heard and valued so your

2:40

MC from the minute your attendees arrive

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is going to be setting the tone for the

2:45

event making sure that people know that

2:47

it is an event where they're going to be

2:49

welcomed and connected I mean we talked

2:51

about that in last week's episode quite

2:53

a bit it's about the MC playing that

2:56

role of showing people this is your

2:58

event this is an tendy F first event so

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let's talk about how you can create a

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warm engaging atmosphere which as we

3:06

know is what we want we want people to

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feel like that as an MC my role is to be

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constantly thinking about the attendee

3:12

experience I need to be reading the room

3:15

adjusting the energy ensuring everyone

3:17

is involved now I can use humor I can

3:20

use storytelling Interac Dev elements

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and I'm going to be working with the

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event planners all the time before the

3:26

event to create a sense of community and

3:28

excitement there something isn't working

3:31

or needs adjusting that's what the MC

3:34

should be able to see and then pivot to

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keep the focus on what is going to best

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serve the audience and if you are

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talking about virtual and hybrid events

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the role of an MC becomes even more

3:45

vital in having an attendee first event

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because in a virtual setting just

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keeping people engaged is a challenge

3:52

and a skilled virtual MC can do a lot

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more than just talking into the camera

3:57

they'll use all the polls at their at

3:59

their me means q&as live chats to keep

4:02

people really engaged the job is to

4:05

bridge the gap between the digital and

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the physical spaces and making sure that

4:09

everyone no matter where they are is

4:11

included and involved so let's look at

4:13

how exactly having an MC is going to put

4:16

your attendees first so it's the

4:18

personalized engagement you can

4:21

literally be talking directly to the

4:22

audience you can be tailing your

4:24

interactions to fit their needs and

4:25

their preferences if you've just got a

4:27

session happening without anybody

4:28

moderating it there isn't this

4:31

opportunity to tailor it and to see okay

4:33

we've got less people in the room how

4:35

could we turn this now it's going to be

4:37

crazy if we've only got 10 people at the

4:38

back and 10 people at the front the MC

4:40

is going to say right come on everybody

4:41

we've got a smaller session today for

4:43

whatever reason people have been held up

4:45

in traffic or more people have chosen to

4:47

go to the other session and they will

4:49

then turn it more into an interactive

4:50

Workshop than it just being a speaker

4:53

talking to 20 people spaced out across

4:55

the room you can do that because you can

4:57

be adjusting the flow very quickly to

4:59

who's there go we're going to get more

5:00

attention this way I've seen it when

5:03

MC's have gone do you know what we've

5:05

got these people here we would have had

5:06

more people but there's a a networking

5:08

event going on in in kind of parallel

5:10

with it let's make this event as well as

5:13

an education session an opportunity for

5:15

networking and so they've brought

5:16

everybody to the front they've given

5:18

them all a drink they've made it more

5:19

inclusive and they've been able to do

5:21

that because that's the MC's role seeing

5:23

what's needed and making it

5:25

happen and it's also obviously to make

5:28

things fairly seem less within the event

5:30

keep sessions flowing into each other

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explain why this session comes after

5:34

this session make it all make sense

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that's a really important role of the MC

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because it makes the attendee feel very

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comfortable they then know what's going

5:42

they understand what's happening they

5:44

then feel more looked after and you have

5:46

that sense the attendee was a priority

5:49

and of course if things go wrong you

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want to look to the MC as an organizer

5:53

as an attendee as a contributor to be

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that person that's sort of look making

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it all look seamless and happy and even

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easy on stage handling any hiccups with

6:01

real Grace and then you feel okay this

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is all in control because that's as

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important to the attendee as it is to

6:07

the planner because if you think you're

6:09

witnessing a bit of a crash you you you

6:11

feel uncomfortable and awkward and you

6:12

don't want to stay and that's the last

6:14

thing you want you want your attendees

6:16

to stay and enjoy it and I think having

6:19

a professional calm MC to do that when

6:21

things go wrong is is very very

6:23

important and they are there so

6:26

importantly to be able to create

6:28

opportunities for attendees to get

6:30

involved in what's going on with the

6:32

content of the event so it can be just

6:35

facilitating some networking sessions or

6:37

really encouraging participation in

6:39

contributor sessions in after Keynotes

6:42

during panels so that people are less

6:44

passive and more active and we know that

6:46

when people are more active as a

6:48

participant the more they will enjoy it

6:50

the more the better the experience is so

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it's all about this welcoming safe

6:55

inclusive atmosphere that your MC can

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totally encourage and code into what's

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happening so that every attendee is

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going to feel super super comfortable

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now I think that one of the issues with

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um being an MC that I have probably

7:10

heard most is cost cost is always a

7:13

concern and sometimes um returnal

7:15

investment on hiring in another person

7:18

bringing in another supplier to your

7:20

event structure how can you prove their

7:22

value how can you understand that the

7:26

money you've spent on hiring an MC will

7:29

actually make your event attendee first

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and so I'm going to say a couple of

7:33

things to you about

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that when it comes to talking about

7:38

attendee experience the whole question

7:40

of return on investment is always going

7:42

to be a little bit trickier because if

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you are measuring this purely on a

7:46

monetary basis then it might feel that

7:48

an MC and other elements of your um

7:52

event makeup are very high but it's

7:55

about considering the value beyond the

7:57

immediate profits such as new needs and

7:59

Partnerships or brand awareness and

8:01

other non-monetary wins that can be

8:03

directly gained from the event so if

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you're employing an expert to keep the

8:07

momentum High the attendees engaged and

8:09

to bring together all the different

8:11

elements of your event into a really

8:13

coherent message then that represents

8:16

value for money because if you're

8:17

running an event and the audience is

8:19

front and center of all you do and they

8:21

leave with a great feeling about your

8:23

brand and they want to be part of your

8:25

community and become customers

8:27

eventually if not immediately then they

8:29

will get that from you having hired an

8:32

MC I'm hoping that if your goal is that

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your attendees have a great experience

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and they leave with fonded feelings

8:39

about your brand then the ROI of

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investing in an MC is a

8:45

no-brainer so I hope you've enjoyed all

8:47

that and next week we're going to be

8:49

talking about something you may have

8:50

heard a little bit about the five

8:52

generations that are now in our

8:54

workplace and those five generations

8:56

they're going to be attendees at your

8:57

event how do you make sure that your

9:00

event is a 10d first for all these five

9:04

generations so we'll tackle that in the

9:07

next episode of not the same as last Year