As I took a sip from the freshly brewed coffee at a local café
joint in downtown Singapore, my meeting started with the exact opening lines from a young
aspiring emcee across the table…
“Richard, I am so glad you agreed to this meeting and I am very
excited to meet and learn from you. I heard so much about you…”
Instinctively, I wondered what have I done to enthuse this bright
young chap with so much fervor.
Personal branding has a big role in one’s success in the
events and entertainment industry. Think about running an event and a list of
stakeholders comes to mind – emcees, deejays, sound technicians, lighting
programmers, videographers, photographers, stage hands, setup crew, performers
(singers, dancers, magicians, etc), show callers, event producers, event
managers, make-up artists, costumes team and many more. While it is important
to highlight that the success of any event is a collaborative team effort, the
bigger question often comes to mind – For each and every role, who should we
engage?
This is where your personal brand comes in.
Events is a very unique business in itself. We seek to
deliver our services through tailoring the experience for the client and the
audience. And because we know EXPERIENCE is an intangible product and the event
is often managed live (with no second chance) – the reliability and trustworthiness
of each stakeholder giving their best become critical (and sometimes
judgemental).
And as such, stakeholders are sometimes seen as products. As
an emcee, I had my encounters of being regarded as a “product”
· Why is the emcee taking a break? Isn’t he supposed to keep talking?
· At a dinner and dance, the emceeing is so
boring. Not fun at all. Last year emcee was better.
· At a roadshow, the emcee is not doing his job.
There isn’t any crowd coming in.
· There are too many competing instructions, as a result the emcee is seen as uncooperative.
As a service provider of emceeing service, just like any
service providers, there are service levels or expectations from clients. The
worst is not just about not being able to live up to the client’s expectations
or service levels as an emcee, the worst is being labelled as a poor performing
emcee. Unlike a real product, such as a mobile phone, emcees do not have a
second chance. One may be using an older version of a mobile phone with some
dissatisfaction, but will still head to the stores and get the latest version of
the product. Unfortunately, an emcee whom has been given a poor appraisal by
the client will likely be remembered for the poor appraisal even after a few
years. Simply put, it does not help even if an emcee goes up to the mountains,
trains and improves himself, comes back with better skills. He may still be
remembered by the client for the poor performance previously!
Personal branding is not just about making sure you deliver
exceptional performance to your clients only. It is also built and accumulated
when you work with various stakeholders in the industry. Be flexible to accommodate
changes in the event program and find ways to not only incorporate the changes
but also to see how you could enhance the experience for the audience. Put on
the hats of other service providers within the events industry and see how you
could help reduce additional workload or improve workflow for them. As an example,
sometimes performers may need to run off a little earlier for their next
performance or may turn up late. In these scenarios, do your best to make sure
the program flows smoothly and no one notices the hiccup. Also, performers
appreciate when we give them a rousing introduction and excite the crowd before
inviting them on stage. Trust me, it helps gather the audience and makes it
easier for the performers to engage the audience. Likewise for the deejays and
sound professionals, who wouldn’t like it when they are able to be on point and
on cue? Sometimes there could be issues with the system or they are taking
instructions from the events managers or performers, take a quick glance at the
sound console area and see if they are ready before inviting the performance. It
doesn’t look good for you or the sound professionals when the audience is
literally staring at the both of you. For photographers and videographers, be
helpful in encouraging audience to post for photos or slow down a little at
times help provide ample opportunities for good photos or videos.
As social media takes a more intrusive role in our lives,
inevitably, it becomes part of personal branding and it is critical to be
consistent on social media, as you would be on stage or in person. As an emcee,
others are drawn to your personality and appearance first and over time as they
know you better, they are drawn to your character. Think of how to showcase
your personality and appearance to increase your prominence on social media. Consistency
and appealing to the masses will help you in enhancing your personal branding
as an emcee.
I wanted to keep this post short and my apologies for the length.
One last observation in my own journey in personal brand building (and still
work in progress), is to be genuine. Whether on stage or off stage, whether on
social media or in real person, BE THE REAL YOU.
Have fun developing your personal brand as an emcee.
Cheers,
Richard Style
(About the author) Emcee Richard Style has established his popularity as an emcee within Singapore's events and entertainment scene through the past 10 years. Armed with his flair in local and foreign languages, as well as his impressive ability to engage his audience, Emcee Richard Style has been successful in winning the trust and hearts of both his audience and clients.