How to WOW as an Emcee or Host

Listen, if you've ever been at an event with an MC, you know they are make or break for your event. So if you ever have the opportunity to MC, there are some ahas coming to you that you have got to download. Hey everybody, my name is Sally Koering Zimney and I'm your speaker coach and I empower big-hearted entrepreneurs like you to leverage the power of your authentic voice so that you can have the kind of impact that you have always dreamed of. We're going to scale your impact with your voice. Today on the show, what is moving me is this idea of being an MC. I'm so excited to have on the show with me today Dan Ram. Now, Dan Ram is an incredible MC. He has been on some of the biggest stages in the world with the likes of all the big names. I mean, there's a picture of he and Barack just hanging. That's what I'm talking about. So we can glean some of those ahas from him to help you show up out front. Now, even if you never MC, there are some really powerful delivery pieces and mastery. There is mastery in this conversation with Dan Ramsey. Now, before we dive into the episode, I want to talk with you a moment about the new Facebook group I've got going on, the Emerging Speaker Society. We've got daily inspiration, weekly trainings. We have occasional monthly challenges to help uplevel you from newbie to emerging to pro speaker. Come join this group. You can find us at bemoved.com/ess for Emerging Speaker Society. Now let's get on to the show. Here he is, Mr. Dan Ram. The MC is the glue and it makes or breaks. Even as fabulous as your speakers are, if your MC is a dud and you lose the, the energy and the flow, it's a killer. So I knew when I watched you, I was like, this guy is really good. Of course, of course, your, your success speaks for itself in that.

First of all, thank you for those very kind words. And second, I love that you can differentiate and also value the MC role. Because I'll be honest, I would not have appreciated MCs before I became an MC. Because to me, the MC has always been like, "Ah, the chair of the board or the president of the company or the most charismatic person or the journalist or the aspiring student who wants a bit of stage time." It was always a voluntary, casual, secondary role. Everyone cared about the speaker. It's only when I became an MC that I was like, whoa, this just activates every part of you because you have to be so present, so connected. You gotta think about everything from audio to video to production to what's happening in the green room to the people speaking in your head. And that's right, you have multiple headphones and earpieces from the producer to the stage manager, everything while being totally spontaneous and prepared. And I was like, this is it.

So Dan, I'm curious, what was the moment where you were like, actually, this is how I can make the biggest impact?

This is why this job never gets old and why I love it. So Jessica Alba, the most incredible businesswoman, and she didn't like the image that was about to show on stage with her name on it. And so she made a very calm comment to the producer saying, "Can you please change that image?" And of course the answer, because we are here to serve, is yes. But in the meanwhile, I've got 5,000 German businessmen and women in front who were expecting Jessica Alba to show up in about 60 seconds. That's how long I have to introduce her. And so I go on stage with the full confidence that the producer is going to change this picture within 60 seconds. And so I go on stage with my Lederhosen, which is this Bavarian outfit, and I'm in front of the audience and I'm listening in one earpiece to the producer who managed the whole show and the other earpiece to the stage manager who's standing with Jessica. And while I'm talking to 5,000 people, I hear a conversation that is very clear. We're not going to have Jessica Alba on stage. In 60 seconds and not even in 5 minutes. Oh no, no, we figured this out. All of this is happening while the audience is oblivious. And my job is to make sure they're oblivious, make sure the event looks amazing, make sure that whatever's happening backstage, Jessica comes on feeling loved, valued, and so ready. And so I start to do a few things with the audience. We do a little sing-along. I run into the crowd. I do some quick question Q&A. I ask people their highlights. We're buying time. At some point I decide I'm going to kick a ball into the audience. We're going to play a game. I've already stalled for about 12 minutes. And so I have to do what proceeds to be a little bit of self-deprecation, a little bit of humor at my expense, and eventually an introduction with Jessica Alba. Even though many may consider that a moment of failure or loss or stress, I was so alive. And I had so many people who came to me afterwards saying, "That was a really good bit. How long did you practice that?" That reinforcement was like, if the audience never suspected anything, I saved the event, which is what I'm hired by events to do. Second, I made sure that Jessica looked good, appeared good. There was no talk about what was happening backstage. There was no apologies. I never once said we're running late or anything of that sort. And the audience felt so comfortable. They didn't get restless for one second. I was like, this is it. This is why I do what I do.

Gosh, that's amazing. And I want to underline something that you said because I think it is essential whether you're emceeing a huge event or you are facilitating the transition between things at your annual conference is Trust. Your job is to create a sense of trust between you and the audience, that the audience is in good hands. Everything that's happening is being handled. That because as soon as trust is broken, they start to pull out of the experience and start going, what's happening? We want them to just experience. Yes. Does that resonate with you?

Absolutely. And I would extend it because I've— we've used the word glue before, that For sure, trust between MC and audience, 100% trust between MC and event organizer, 'cause they've put in all this work to organize this event. I happen to be the face of it. I'm representing them. Who am I? I didn't do all the work. I didn't raise all the money. I didn't connect with all the speakers. I don't have to deal with all the partners and sponsors. They have to, and they've trusted their entire stage with me. So that is essential. The speakers trust me to make them look good, to not embarrass them. The stagehands and the stage managers have to trust, and I have to build a trust. I gotta trust that when I make an introduction, when a panel walks up, the chairs and tables appear on time. And they've gotta trust me that I'm gonna give them enough time to do that so no one looks bad. And when tech fails, which it always does, I never go, "Oh, it worked well during rehearsal," or, "Come on, DJ, why is it—" No, there's gotta be full trust. We're a team working together. And so it's multi-layers of trust. And the challenge with an MC is you gotta build that usually within a period of about 24 hours. Most MCs appear at a venue the day before. So you gotta be really quick at, and with speakers, sometimes I get like 2 or 3 minutes backstage. That's how much time you have to make an impression and go, for the next 45 minutes, we're gonna dig deep into your life. And trust has to be that underlying, connection here. I love—

thank you for broadening the perspective on that because you're right. Dan, where we can connect with you?

So Instagram is generally where I answer the fastest, @iamdanram, or just drop me an email, uh, find me on my website, iamdanram.com. This was really fun to have you on the show. Thank you. One of my experiences is that this journey being a speaker or an MC or even just a freelancer in a broad term can be quite lonely. And there's so much that you need to learn and you want to connect with peers, but it's not always possible. And I think spaces like yours that you create are so valuable and so important. And I really appreciate you creating this space.

Absolutely. Well, the space is created because people join me here. So, and I love these conversations. Thank you, sir.