hosting is in the blood

There are people who are really cut and made to become the perfect hosts. They live and breathe the craft and feel like fish is into water whenever given a microphone on stage. Hosting is fun and challenging. Some people are gifted with the talent to host. Words just seem to tumble out from their mouths with ease and smoothness. It is really amazing to watch and listen to these gifted hosts and I am talking about the caliber of someone like Oprah or Ellen. Of course, there are other capable ones but so far I consider them the most natural and the most ideal.

On their plus side is the fact that both use their own native language so this by itself accounts for much of the ease and expertise these two people exhibit.

Above all, hosting is in the blood. One can never find it when it's not there.

when there are two hosts

In a show or program with two hosts the organizers should make sure that these two people who will take charge of the show can very well work together or have beautiful chemistry together. Otherwise, they could turn the show into a disaster.

This is what happened to a show we watched last night. The two hosts weren't in synch with each other, they were working their own separate ways, and they merely followed the flow of the script in their most lifeless style.

The show had a lot of waiting or gaps. In cases like this the hosts, especially if there are two of them, should come in and fill in the gaps. One of the two hosts tried to do this by doing some adlibs but his co-host just killed him each time and was very poor in responding to his attempts to save the show.

The emcee makes or unmakes a show. In this case, the show failed dismally for getting the wrong hosts.

The master of ceremonies is key to the success of a show. Poor or lousy hosting equals flop. The two hosts last night obviously failed in these areas:

1. They had no teamwork, they did not know what they were doing.
2. Poor audience contact. They were not there.

With that I say, when you can hire one good host, do it. But make sure he is a good one. Never sacrifice the quality of your show for unprofessional or amateur hosts.

a thousand "Ladies and gentlemen"

It is amazing to hear how young debaters, learning the skill of debating for the first time, had absorbed the bad habits of their predecessors. I do not only mean the dancing and the bouncing while driving their arguments but the profuse use of certain terms and expressions that can easily irritate the ears of the audience after listening to all of them.

In a short speech of 5 to 7 minutes, you would hear a deluge of "ladies and gentlemen" rattled by all 8 debaters. Multiply that by 7 and that's almost an hour of hearing "ladies and gentlemen" used freely all throughout. "At the end of the day" I thought I heard the expression a thousand times.

Another favorite expression which will most likely take the place of "ladies and gentlemen" is "at the end of the day" which I heard 20 times running second to everybody's favorite "ladies and gentlemen".

When their attention was called regarding the obvious and profuse use of "ladies and gentlemen", the new debaters have found another clutch on a new phrase, "at the end of the day".

Needless repetition and redundancy are discouraged anywhere whether in writing or public speaking. An expression should, as much as possible be only used once during the entire speech. Repeating it may not be a very good idea. Saying it more than twice will make you sound like a bore to say the least.

voice and audience contact

Two general observations had been made among the kids that have enrolled this summer for public speaking and journalism. Out of the nine only two showed confidence in projecting themselves with the right volume of the voice, while the rest still needs more training in this area. This can be achieved after more practice and drills which they are getting every meeting. Another thing which they need to work on is audience contact. It seems like majority of the kids have the tendency to look everywhere---the roof, windows, floor --- and avoid looking at their classmates who serve as their audience. Eye contact is vital in putting across your message. Without this, everything else fails. So these two aspects of public speaking will have to dealt with early on before proceeding to more serious topics. Today, a review on the parts of the stage will be done for the sake of those who were absent yesterday, then we move on to gestures, how important they are and the different types, then the different public speaking situations will be discussed. There is so much to be done with too little time but my goal really is to make these kids excel in their classes and in school because of the skills they have gained from this month-long seminar workshop.

successful hosting or emceeing

A good host or emcee (master of ceremonies) holds the key to a successful show or program. On the other hand, poor hosting or emceeing can kill what would have been a good show. While doing some research in this area, I found out that there are aren't that much materials on hosting or emceeing tips that people who feel they have the knack for it can use in order to improve their hosting techniques. I would like to start a few blogs on this area as I'd gathered many years of hosting experience and had successfully transferred the skill to my children. I know that those of you who love to learn this skill can easily do so through practice---constant practice.

Oprah Winfrey would be my idea of a good host----intelligent, witty, charming, people-oriented, and creative. If making Oprah as our standard for good hosting sounds too ambitious to you, then you might as well forget about having any serious career along that line.

Career? How can one make a career from hosting or emceeing? In case you don't know, hosts of shows, parties, or programs are paid a handsome price depending on the magnanimity of the show. If it is a beauty pageant, a host can earn from one show from Php 5,000 to 15,000 Php. Yes, people pay good money for good talent or showmanship. After all, the program can easily turn into a flop if not well handled by a professional host.

Opportunities? Events that need hosts are just too many to mention but let us name some of the most common ones where an emcee can make money: beauty pageants, weddings, debuts, anniversaries, variety shows, fashion shows, competitions, parties, etc. Just make your existence known, make yourself visible, show them and you will have your hands full. Now for the nitty-gritty of the whole thing, come back for the next blog. I have some offline work to do but I will be back for more tips on good hosting.