What are the best ways to start and end your event as an emcee?

1 Grab their attention

The first few minutes of your event are crucial to capture your audience's attention and interest. You want to make a good impression, establish your credibility, and create a rapport with them. You can do that by using a catchy opening line, a relevant anecdote, a surprising statistic, a humorous joke, or a provocative question. Whatever you choose, make sure it relates to the theme and purpose of your event, and that it resonates with your audience's needs and expectations.

2 Introduce yourself and the event

After you've grabbed their attention, you need to introduce yourself and the event. Tell them who you are, what your role is, and why you are excited to be there. Then, give them a brief overview of what the event is about, what they can expect to learn or gain from it, and how they can participate and interact. You can also mention the agenda, the speakers, the sponsors, and any housekeeping rules or logistics. Keep it concise, clear, and upbeat, and use transitions to move smoothly from one topic to the next.

3 Engage and energize them

Throughout the event, you want to keep your audience engaged and energized. You can do that by using various techniques, such as asking questions, conducting polls, sharing stories, telling jokes, giving compliments, showing enthusiasm, and using body language and voice modulation. You also want to facilitate the interaction between the speakers and the audience, and between the audience members themselves. You can do that by introducing the speakers, summarizing their key points, moderating the Q&A sessions, encouraging feedback and comments, and creating networking opportunities.

4 Wrap it up with style

The last few minutes of your event are also crucial to leave a lasting impression on your audience and to achieve your goals. You want to wrap it up with style, by summarizing the main takeaways, highlighting the achievements, thanking the speakers, the sponsors, and the audience, and giving a call to action. You can also end with a memorable quote, a powerful story, a funny joke, or a heartfelt message. Whatever you choose, make sure it reflects the tone and purpose of your event, and that it inspires your audience to take action or to stay connected.

5 Follow up and follow through

Your job as an emcee doesn't end when the event is over. You also want to follow up and follow through with your audience, speakers, sponsors, and organizers. You can do that by sending thank-you notes, feedback surveys, certificates, newsletters, or social media posts. You can also share the highlights, the photos, the videos, or the resources from the event. By doing so, you can show your appreciation, gather insights, measure results, and build relationships for future events.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?