Why Your Event Needs a Professional MC (Behind the Scenes)

Being an MC isn’t just about holding a microphone. It’s about leading the entire experience.

In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my first-ever three-day conference as the MC, where I ran the full run of show and held the room from start to finish. This is a real look at what it actually takes to run a live event — from the preparation weeks before, to speaker coordination, to navigating on-stage pivots when things go off script.

You’ll hear:

• What an event MC really does before, during, and after an event
• Why the run of show is critical to audience experience
• How professional MCs handle technical issues and tight schedules live
• The role of presence, identity, and leadership on stage
• What event organizers should look for when choosing an MC

I’m also sharing real moments from the event, including live pivots when slide decks failed and how I kept the audience engaged under pressure. This episode is for speakers, leaders, and especially event organizers who want their events to feel intentional, high-value, and unforgettable.

If you’re ready to elevate how you show up on stage — or you’re planning an event and want to understand what separates a professional MC from someone who’s just behind the mic — this episode will change how you see live events.

To go deeper:

• Standing O is where we build speaker identity, presence, and leadership
• SpeakEazy is where speakers practice live delivery, pivots, and confidence

When the MC is prepared, the event flows.
 And when the event flows, the audience feels it.

Transcript

0:00

Welcome back to the Public Speaking Icon podcast. I'm your host, Coco Gunn, also known as the Voice Architect, and I have been waiting to do this episode, and I think you guys have two. Many of you may have been following my Instagram stories over the past week, two weeks, and I'm sure that many of you saw that I ceed an event. For three full days, and although the compliments were appreciated, I kind of wanna give you guys the backstory and a little bit of insight on what it takes to be an mc and what this experience is actually. Like, so today we're gonna talk about my life as an mc and what it really takes to run a three day conference. Now, the job as an, as an mc, when I thought about this position, right, I can tell you guys the very first time I actually MCed, it happened to be my niece. Quine in The Bahamas because they, their mc either didn't show or they just didn't hire one. And we had a ton of people we had to navigate going to get food, you know, the food line, you know, entertainment, introductions. There was so much, and I honestly didn't, didn't want her mom to have to worry about that because I wanted her to be in the moment. So I asked for the mic. And, and this is, mind you, before I even started my coaching business, like this was like at the beginning phases and I grabbed the mic and went to work and it came so naturally everyone, you know, the feedback was, you've done this before, right? Like you've, you know, how long have you been MCing? I, you know, I want you to come mc my event. And you just gotta flow. Like I did not feel weird or uncomfortable or nervous. I felt honestly in my element. But you know, for me, I was just doing it to be, you know, to be helpful. It never really, I never really thought it would turn into something actually bigger than I expected. So fast forward a few years and I ended up filling in as an mc for another event. Their mc had a schedule conflict and at the time I was coaching. Yeah, I was coaching, I had just spoken on a stage, so I was just in the very beginning stages and they gave me the phone call literally two weeks before the event and they asked if I could mc the one day conference and things kind of just took off from there. And before you know it, I got invited to mc an event, uh, in Jacksonville, Florida for. All three days. So we had a VIP day and two full conference days. So talking starting at 9:00 AM going till 5:00 PM and it was an experience and I wanna give you guys a little bit of that, of what that was like. I know you guys were able to see me give you some BTS right on my Instagram stories. And of course I showed you guys the recap reels. But I really wanna just talk about my experience, you know, how, what it takes, you know, to run a full show, you know, because I think a lot of people. Misunderstand what an mc actually does. You know, people think that it's just a person behind a microphone that reads off, you know, cue cards. And you know what? To be honest, there's some people that only do that, and that's to them what an mc is. But for me, I take this job way more seriously because I understand the amount of effort and sacrifice that hosts and organizers have to make to create an experience for an attendee. So. I want to just give you guys a rundown. So this episode is going to be for speakers, so you have an idea of what, what you can do to help the mc just a little bit for any leaders that are out there thinking about organizing an event, and maybe you haven't even thought about hiring an mc and don't even know what to look for in, in, in an mc. And then of course, for event organizers and hosts, if you're someone that currently has an event. And you, you know, maybe have, just have a volunteer as an mc and you wanna bring on an mc. Now you know what things to look for in hiring someone that's going to hold space in the room and provide this engaging experience for your attendees, regardless of what's going on behind the scenes. So I'm gonna dive right in because again, I want you guys to really think about this. MCing is not just about someone talking on a stage. It is about leading. An audience into an experience, you know? So one thing that I want you guys to think about is the prep. There is prep work that goes into. An event, as you guys know, and you know, hiring an mc or bringing on an mc. And one of the things that you have to do as an mc is you have to understand the organizer's goals, right? What does the organizer wanna get outta this event? Are they pitching a product or do they have a theme? What is actually happening happening within the event itself? So, you know, okay, this is how I'm gonna move. So for me, I always make sure I meet with the organizer however many times that we need to so I can get a full understanding of the theme of the event. What their goals of the event, how many speakers are going? Are we gonna have, so I get, I get a full picture, right? Because I wanna know, okay, what do you want your audience feeling when they leave? What is the goal here? Is it action? Is it motivation? Is it inspiration? You know what? What do you do? You want them to execute. So the first thing is, of course, being in alignment. You know, knowing and understanding their vision and saying to yourself, okay, here's how. We should put this together so that way the event is an experience and not just a day full of speakers. Right. And then you have what's called the run of show. Right? And I, I think of this as a performance. I think of this as a Broadway show or a play, right? You're taking the audience on this journey of. Beginning, middle, and end, you know, with the speakers, the speaker lineup, activities breaks lunch. It has gotta be a full experience for them to where they know and they feel this energy to take action at the end. Especially if you are someone that's pitching tickets for the following year or you're pitching a high ticket offer. You need to get them in the mindset. You need to get your audience in this. In this flow, right? So you have to think about, okay, timing. How many speakers are you gonna have, right? I wanna know how many speakers are you gonna have? What is the timeframe of each speaker? And what do your breaks look like in between? Because as an attendee myself, it's very difficult to go through a full day of a conference and. There's no breaks, right? It's just back to back speaker, boom, boom, boom. And you don't get to go to the restroom. If you go to the restroom, you may miss the speaker beforehand. You may miss a speaker that's coming out, right? So I really wanna know, okay, let's look at your schedule and let's make sure that this is a schedule for the attendees and not a schedule for the speakers or the tech, right? This experience is for the attendees because they're paying for this event. What do you want the energy to be? Right? Are you starting with motivation and inspiration in the beginning? Do you want high impact energy for the entire time? What does the, what does the organizer want that to look like? So I wanna make sure, okay, is this more corporate vibes? Is this more fun, girly vibes? Is this more serious and sultry vibes? What is the energy? So I can then make sure I'm creating that throughout the event. And then I also look at transitions, right? Because I also wanna make sure. The organizers. So a lot of organizers, they're ready to speak on stage, right? Give their a keynote, but they're not understanding that you also have to be visible throughout the event. Your attendees wanna see your presence on stage. And so I always wanna make sure, okay, what do the transitions look like? When are you gonna come on stage? When do you want me to introduce you? What do you want me to say? How do you want me to, do you want me to think the speakers, or do you want me to think the, the, the, the sponsors'cause the, it's a big collaboration, especially when. The organizer may be a speaker, and they do know that they want stage time, but to then stage time is just their keynote, and that's the first and last time that they see the organizer until after the event for the networking. After party, right? So I wanna make sure, okay, when's the transition coming in? When are you coming to the stage? That way we can prepare the audience for that because again, everything is about prepping the audience. Everything is about the audience. So transitions must be smooth and coordinated. That way there's no hiccups and it doesn't give the audience time to be distracted. So the next thing I also wanna look at this wanna look at in the prepping stage before the event even happens, is the speaker coordination Now. Some events have made way more keynotes and some events have way more panels. It kind of just depends on your audience, right, and what the organizer wants. Wants this experience to look like. So I typically wanna know, okay, who's speaking and understanding the tone and the content of the event, because I'll go to speaker pages, take a look, get to know them a little bit better, because when I get to know them, then I can craft their bios. And now when I'm introducing them, it feels like I've known them already. I don't wait till the day of to get a speaker list and then hopefully to see more bios. I take full ownership of that piece because again, I'm running the show, so any mistakes, any hiccups, they're gonna fall on the mc and I don't want any speaker getting on stage and feeling like. They didn't get a good introduction, you know, so I will make sure that I connect with them prior to the event because it's a big deal for them, you know? So the event itself isn't, as, isn't just a big deal. But some of these speakers, it's their first time doing their keynote, you know, they are backstage just as nervous as maybe the audience is. So I wanna make sure that I created, I created BI a bio. I get to know them well enough to where my introduction to them on stage actually warms the room and the space for them versus a plain Jane introduction off a cue card and they get on stage and now they have to get the energy up. So the MCs, the MCs responsibility is to create the warmth before that speaker comes on stage. So the audience is already in that they're already ready to receive versus cold audience with just a regular, you know, introduction. And now they have to warm up. And if you think about it, you speakers typically have T 20 minutes to speak on stage, maybe 30. Warmup phase is about 10 minutes, and that's if they're a great speaker. If they're not, it could be longer because that intro, that intro story, that beginning of their speech has to be fire, otherwise. The audience is gonna take a little bit more time to warm up. So the reason that this matters, of course, is obviously we protect the speakers because again, not only is the event important, but majority of speakers are working really hard on speeches to make sure that they present the value that they wanna present, as well as the a present themselves on stage. And you don't wanna have any awkward transitions, right? You wanna make sure that the flow of a schedule based on the speaker's content, flows in alignment so that the audience feels that, that it's a journey and not just random. One-off speakers here and there, and there's no structure, there's no design, and that's what causes a lot of confusion and that's what often makes it really hard to convert at events, because that schedule's not there. That lineup is not there. So the audience doesn't know where they're going. So when you don't tell them where to go. They're gonna go their own direction. Okay, and so after speaker coordination, let's talk about something that is super important and speakers. This one is especially important for you. Slide deck and logistic oversight. Now, slide decks. It is very, very important that if you are going to be speaking on a stage that you lock in your side deck, make sure that it works. Make sure that the fonts are good, and send it in whatever format the organizer requests one. I do, I wanna make sure as an mc, that your side decks are good to go. And typically this piece is, this piece is handled by the organizer, but sometimes it does fall on the mc because some organizers give the mc. Control over the show, which includes speakers, AV coordination, all those things. It kind of just depends on who you're working with as from an organizer standpoint, but. I review the slide decks, I make sure that everything's in alignment. Make sure that there's an order. And honestly, if you are an organizer and you are hosting events, ideally the best bet would be create one full slide deck and have each speaker work off of the same template, same slide deck with their information. That way you have one deck and you don't have to worry about asking for them, but sometimes that's just not what speakers wanna do, and totally understandable. I also wanna make sure that I'm knowing what's coming before it even hits the screen. So I'm aware of what speakers next. Do they have a slide deck? Do they not have a slide deck? And that way I can, I can navigate with the speaker and I don't have to give'em a clicker or you know, I don't want them to come on stage. And I'm thinking that there's a slide deck and they don't have a slide deck, but then I'm handing them a clicker and then they're distracted.'cause they think that, you know, there's just a lot. There's a lot that goes into that. So. I always wanna make sure I run through it if I can to make sure things are smooth and there's, there's transitions. If there's sponsor slides, we need to talk about that they're listed. But again, sometimes this happens with the organizer and not with the mc itself. And. The last thing is the logistics, right? Does a speaker wanna a handheld mic? Are they gonna have a prop? Do they want a hand? Uh uh, a hands-free microphone? All of these things matter because timing, right? If they have, if they have a microphone, that means I have to make sure I have a micro for them on stage, right? Or I make sure they have a microphone in hand before they get on stage. And that's usually something that the stage. A stage manager will do if you have one, but if you don't, usually the mc will have the mic on stage, or they'll have their mic and they'll hand it off to the speaker. But some speakers, you know, feel more comfortable having a, uh, a, a, I say a hand list mic. A hand list mic where they have to go and get micd up first. So then they have, so they have to schedule time to go see av. To get mic'ed up, make it back behind stage, and then be ready for their introduction. So it's very important that I know those transitions and I know those, those, those nuances for the speaker so I know what's coming next. Because again, you don't want hiccups in a, in a show, especially when, when attendees are paying four to$500 for a ticket for general admission. You can't have hiccups. You gotta have smooth, smooth, smooth shows because they're gonna enjoy the experience way more as well as you're gonna be able to convert. So we've gotten through the prep phase, right? The MCs job ultimately is to make everything in that show feel seamless, pretty much, which includes a lot of other things. But we'll talk, we'll get to that later. This is gonna be a little bit longer episode than expected.'cause I'm gonna give you guys the full rundown, right? So. Ultimately, yes, we have to make everything seem flawless and it's a lot of pressure, but it is a lot of fun if you are organized, right? So yes, we have to make things seem, seem seamless, but we have a lot of stuff that happens behind the scenes that we cannot let the audience know. So let's talk a little bit about the night before. Now my prep is way different. I'm, I have a regimen I really lock in because. I am exerting a lot of energy for the day, right? It's always high energy I always have to be on. So I am typically the night before I meet with the organizer and we talk about their amount of show. Okay, what do things look like? Are there hiccups? Are there changes? I'm able to maneuver.'cause the last thing I wanna do is be on stage and looking like a deer in headlights, right? So I also confirm expectations, timing. Do we have flexibility? Who do I go to if I can't reach you? Who's making the decisions on, is it me? Am I, am I calling the shots? Do you want me to run everything by you? If that's the case, how do I get ahold of you? I hate having a cell phone on stage, so that's why you typically wanna have a stage manager that I can go and run to and say, Hey, I need this. I need this. I can go talk to the audience while stage Manager is handling things. Please, please, please, please, please try not to have your mc running all over the place because we're already exerting a lot of energy on the stage. And behind the scenes, we shouldn't have to be chasing anyone. So speakers, panelists. Typically when we meet beforehand in this kind of meeting, we let you guys know what time you'll be backstage when your show's coming up. We give you a schedule. Obviously the schedule is subject to change just due to, you know. Unforeseen circumstances, which do some do happen sometimes. So the night before I typically meet, now this is depending on how many days, right? If, if it's a three day conference, I meet with them the night before every single day. That way we can run through everything because. As you guys know, if you host an event, it's chaos the day of on stage. We do a great job of hiding that, but behind the scenes it could be chaos and not in a bad way. It's just that things are moving and you're, you're on a schedule, so you can't afford to have, you know, someone, not be where they're supposed to be. So we go over those specific things, timing, schedule changes, slide decks, making sure everything's in alignment. So when. The day opens, we can run full speed ahead. And it was no, is not stressful at all. And this meeting is crucial, crucial, crucial. Because again, once the door is open, you can't go back and change anything. And typically this is where the confidence is built, right? You are giving this audience the opportunity to say, oh, this is a vibe. And yeah, they, they definitely have it together. And so a few things to remember, and I, I think I mentioned this in the beginning of the episode. The mc, they represent the host. So if you are an event organizer or a host, you have to be very mindful of who you pick to run your stage because. Their representation of you. If you want the show to go, well, if you want the energy to be good, the mc, that's their job. And you as an organizer and a host, you can be an mc, but if you choose to be the mc, you cannot be backstage. You cannot be behind the scenes. So you can decide I'm gonna have an mc, or I'm gonna mc and I'm gonna have someone else run everything behind so I can be focused on the energy in the room. Some organizers prefer to be an mc, which I think is also a good opportunity, more visibility for you, but that energy level has to be through the roof all day. But then most organizers are like, listen, I just wanna do my keynote. I wanna be able to watch the space that I've created and I wanna be able to attend network afterwards. So I don't wanna exert that much energy. I'm gonna bring on an mc. So the last thing is, you know. When an mc is in control, I think of it like as a flight attendant, right? I think many of you may or may not know, but I used to be a flight attendant and we run the show on the airline right on on, on a flight, so. If there's an emergency, the first thing that an audience member's, audience member, the first thing that passengers are gonna do is look to the flight attendant. If the flight attendant is calm, they're gonna be calm. The same thing works when you mc. When you have an mc on stage. If they're calm, cool, collected and relaxed, regardless of whatever's going on backstage, the audience will follow their lead. But if your mc doesn't have together, can't read, the bios is all over the place. Doesn't know run of show is asking a million questions. The audience is going to feel that, and that's not something that you want at your event. Trust me when I tell you. All right, so let's talk about the day of reality, okay? This is when sometimes things can go off script, and this is why it's important to make sure you have an experienced mc, because the pivots that happen, whew. They could take your show out, they could take your entire event out if you don't have the right person running the room, so. I can tell you a little bit about some experiences that I had, but recently. We had an experience where a speaker got on stage, they had a massive slide deck, and unfortunately they didn't get an opportunity to see it. They're traveling for work, right? And so they're coming in to do these opportunities and sometimes the deck is different. So when they arrived, they only had about two days to review the slide deck, and we get'em on stage and I give'em the clicker. And there's a, there's a, there's a, we had a confidence monitor, but we also had a monitor in the front and we had two large screens on each side of the stage. And the speaker, unfortunately, because she didn't know her deck as well as she should have, she was having challenges knowing what was on the screens next to her versus what was on the screen in front of her. And if you're not paying attention and you have not rehearsed, this will cause confusion. And so she was getting frustrated on stage, you know, she was, you know, blaming the audio and video video guys. Now mind you, the slide deck the day before is working just fine. So this is where the mc comes in and has to calm the space and has to bring the speaker back. Back onto the stage back with some confidence, and that's what I had to do. So I knew while they were trying to get her to, to understand what was happening, I just started asking questions. Hey, you know what, while we're working on this, so and so, tell me a little bit about what it is that you do. How long have you been with this organization? What made you decide to go with this organization and this company? And that kept the flow going. While the AB team was kind of giving her the rundown of how to do the slide deck, the audience stayed engaged and she actually had an opportunity to talk a little bit about her. Self versus the information that was on the side deck. So it's those kind of things as, as an mc, you have to recognize, you have to recognize when the speaker's going into panic mode or is about to have a freak out on stage and you have to jump in and. Kind of rescue them because one, you don't want them to be embarrassed. And two, you don't want the to, you don't want this to affect the show either. And I say show meaning event because it is a show. You've got a lineup, you've got scheduled performers, a k, a speakers, so you have to know how to pivot. Right? Okay. I see this speaker glazing over, they're forgetting their slides, they're seeing a lot of ums. They're getting off track. You can always jump in as an mc and say, Hey guys, you know, I know that you, we were having some issues with your slides, and give them that little oomph to be like, okay, I'm calm, I'm good. Let me just get back focused. Right? So that's what, that's what I do when I mc, is I make sure that if there is a pivot that happens, you gotta be ready to think on your feet and quickly, because if not. All eyes go to you, and it's kind of just one of those things where you're like, I don't know what to do next. What do I do next? You just move, ask questions, entertain the audience, ask the DJ for a song. You guys know what I mean. We played, we, we did the wobble at this event because we were cold and I opened up and every I could tell in everyone's face and the audience, they were freezing. So I got everyone standing and we did the wobble. We got the audience moving so they could forget about how cold it was. Right. You have to keep the audience focused and not distracted, and it's easy for them to get distracted if things are all over the place when it comes to your show lineup. So it's very, very important that when you are looking at creating this event and hiring an mc even for me, that I'm really just paying attention to. You know what, what's going on with the speakers? What's going on with the audience? You know, is the audience falling asleep? Are you see a lot of people yawning? Are people on their phones and not paying attention? You know, let me tell you guys something. So we were, I was on stage and we were having, it was a very long day. We had back to back speakers and you know, one of the speakers, fellow colleague of mine, you know, pulled me aside in the midst of the hustle and bustle and said, Hey, listen. You know, I'm noticing that at the tables people aren't paying attention. They're having sidebar conversations and it's kind of distracting. And I was like, bet. Done. Thank you for letting me know. I got back on stage before the second half of the day and I made it very clear, Hey guys, listen, I know that we're all here to connect and we're all here to, we meet new people, but. There is many, all of you actually paid to be here. You pay to see speakers on stage. So if you have a conversation that you wanna have, someone you wanna connect with, take it outside. That way you're not distracted to the, the rest of the, the, the attendees and for the speakers, right? These speakers have prepped and prepared to bring value to you, and it's not, it's very rude, right? If you were out in the audience having a conversation or you're not paying attention, or you're on your phone, I understand taking notes. I'm a hand note kind of person, so I don't feel distracted by using my tablet or my. My iPad, I'm sorry, or my laptop. So I made sure the audience knew, this is important. I need you guys to clock in, right? This is, this is something that's being prepared. You bought your ticket clock in, the distractions can wait. So it's that that, those kind of things that you have to take notice of when you mc an event, get, look at the feedback, be observant of what's happening in the room, and you know how to maneuver. Sometimes you gotta pivot to energizing stuff. Sometimes you gotta pull the energy back by having like a meditation session. And sometimes I can tell you guys truthfully. I can feel the weight in the audience. So if people are distracted or they're upset, I can feel it and I will usually address it because once you address the elephant in the room, everything else runs smooth like butter for sure. So that's just a little rundown on the daily stuff. Right. And there's a few more things I wanna add. So imagine having, you know, a tight schedule, right? You sometimes you just. You know, have organizers that wanna pack in the day, right? Because they wanna add so much value, which could be a good and bad thing depending on if you have speakers that stick within their timeframe on their speeches. But, you know, I, we had another incident where we were. Title and schedule. We had some challenges with microphones. We had speakers that weren't where they're supposed to be, and I had to pivot, and if you don't know, I'm a salsa dancer. I have a mambo salsa on two. I call it on two. But for those of you guys that don't know, I have a SALSA team, an all ladies team, so. Business, wife, corporate job, and I have, I'm a director of a lease salsa team, so we had some just challenges with the schedule and with some of the mics, and I instantly went into salsa mode. I was like, Hey guys, I'm gonna teach you guys some salsa. Let's get the blood flowing. You guys have been sitting for a bit. And I taught a five minute salsa salsa class and we did some salsa for a little bit. So that gets the audience on their feet, right? Brings them back into this energy of like, okay, I can let loose, I can relax for a little bit, and then get back focused to the next speaker that's coming on stage. So you can take those and a good mc or recognize how to fill the spaces. When a pivot is needed, and it's super important, especially for organizers because those small pivots, those small changes can be disastrous if they're not handled well. So my job as an mc basically is I read the room, you know, on top of running the schedule on top of speaker lineup, I am paying attention to what is happening in the space. Who's doing what? Who's saying what? Who's chattering, who's not chattering, who's not paying attention? Who looks bored? And then I make sure, okay, we gotta move the energy a little bit. Everyone's looking a little tired right now. Let's get'em up on their feet. And those are the kinds of things that you have to look for. In an mc, how are they holding the space? How are they holding room for your attendees to relax or engage and knowing that information is going to make the event so, so much better? You know, a lot of it is just the presence that I bring to the stage. You know, I, there are moments where there was so much talking going on that all I did was just stand and look at the audience for a minute and I gave them time to look at me. And when they saw that I wasn't moving, they immediately, you could hear the hush. In the audience because it's, it's it's focus time, right? It's that kind of presence that you want. When you have an mc for an event, you wanna make sure that they can just hold the space regardless of whatever is happening in the room. So, for me, holding the space for three days, Evol, this was my first three day conference full day. Sometimes I've done half a day here, you know, where I, you know, I come in, but I did full a full three days and I loved every single second of it. It just felt so aligned. It felt so good to just see the audience every single day. You know? It felt like they became my little close circle of friends overnight, right? Because I'm constantly in front of them. I'm leading them. Through this journey of the day, and I can tell you, I have to think about a few things. One of them is energy management and the different energy that's required during different times of the day. So I'm an empath to begin with, so I need that. I'm an, I'm an empath and I'm an introvert. Believe it or not. Most of the downtime I was in, in my own little space, bringing my energy back in, bringing my focus back in and taking a breather because you are carrying the room and you're carrying the energy in that room. Morning energy is very different than closing energy is very different than lunch energy. So managing that throughout the day as well as managing it for the audience and creating it for them. I definitely have to focus and hone in, okay, here's how I'm feeling right now. Here's what the audience is feeling. Where do we need to shift? And to be honest, reading fatigue versus excitement. Right? You're reading slide decks. You're reading cue cards, and I have to have that balance'cause I could be super excited. But if that excitement carries into a bio for a speaker. And it doesn't come across smooth and elegant and graceful, then that energy's gonna carry to the space. You know, the speaker is very mellow, very chill. The energy doesn't match. So the audience is thinking, oh, this highlight of the speaker, but the speaker's like, no, I'm chill, bro. Like I'm chill. I don't, I don't, I don't need that excitement. So it's knowing when that happens. I had speaker. At the, the event that I just did, where they were really just mellow and chill, and they didn't come with that powerhouse packed energy. So when I read their bio, it wasn't full of this excitement, high level, high tone, high pitch. It was very like controlled, calm, smooth, and slow, so that when that speaker came on stage, it matched the energy that they were bringing to the stage. The second thing I have to think about is transitions and how the transitions within the days shape the experience for the audience. They have to be smooth and they have to make sense, right? It's like I can't have a panel on stage and then jump right into, I'm trying to think of a good example. Say I have a powerhouse speaker, right? That that just went, we're gonna have to take a break. We need to take a break to let the audience absorb that energy and that energy kind of like mellow out in the room. Because then if I go to another speaker or to another panel and that energy is not the same or higher, the, the audience is gonna still be feeding off the energy from the prior speaker, and they're not gonna be able to focus 100% on the next speaker or the next panel that comes in. So, you know. Awkward transitions till momentum. All right, so if you are hosting an event, you have to lock in and make sure that transitions are smooth and that they make sense for the audience, because if not. Your event will be jumbled and the momentum will not continue. You're gonna go through this ebb and flows. It's gonna look like mountains instead of a full going up, going up Mount Everest kind of kind of experience for them. You don't want ebbs and flows in the sense of constantly going in and out of emotions. You wanna have a steady pace for your audience, and that's controlled by the mc. And the last thing. As an mc, I'm a leader on that stage, and that's where my focus is. I I, it's not an ego thing, it's not everyone. Look at me. It is a, I'm a leading this group, this audience to the next step for the organizer convert pitch event for next year. You know, networking, staying till the networking event after. What do you know? I'm, I'm, I'm leading them, right? So I have to be. I have to carry the, the energy, but I also have to be calm under the pressure because it could be the wild, wild west out there, let me tell you. And it's just you. It's you and the audience, and they're looking to you for guidance. So calm under pressure, and I have to be really, really sure of the pivot that I'm about to make. Because the wrong pivot could be disastrous. So I'm really confident when I make a decision and I feel something, I go, I don't think about it. I don't go ask for permission. I don't question it. Which is why you have those, those pre-meetings, right? Where do I go for authority? If you're giving me the go ahead, I'm gonna go and I'm usually always right, right? But it's those kind of things that you have to think about. Okay, if I pivot here, what's that gonna do for the audience? What's that gonna do for the organizer? How is that gonna affect the schedule? And I always have presence. And my presence doesn't start. When I'm on the stage, my presence starts. The minute I enter the venue, I'm going and I'm speaking to attendees, Hey, how'd you like yesterday? Hey, you know, I'm really excited to see you in the room today. Oh my gosh, you're doing the panel today. I go and talk to the speakers. Hey, do you, do you need anything? How are you feeling about your speech? Do you need a, do you, do you need anything from me? What kind of microphone? Just to confirm the things that I already already know. But that doesn't hurt because that lets the speaker know that, Hey, look, I'm, listen now, I'm looking out for you. I'm not gonna let you fall on that. I'm not gonna let you fall on your face. Now, if you get on stage and you bomb your speech, I have no control over that. But that's why you come coach with me for speaking. But anyway, I digressed, but I wanna make sure that the speakers are comfortable. The panelists know where they're supposed to be. They've already, I've already introduced them. We've already had that warm welcome. So when they come on stage or when I'm introducing them, it's not like I'm seeing them for the first time. Right? So I've already built. That kind of relationship with them as the event planning process happens, and throughout the event as a whole. So I'm, I'm consistently present from start to finish morning. I'm meeting, I'm meeting, I'm seeing hi to attendees, show starts, lunchtime. I'm out there if I can for a little bit second half of the show. And then even in clothes, I'm still present in the room. Because I'm still holding the energy until everyone's ready to go home. Right? So number six, the, the sixth thing I wanna kind of just give you guys a rundown on is the identity, image, and stage leadership. And you know who I decide to be when I hit that stage, because I have to be on, right? There's an on and off button when it comes toeing for me and when I'm on, I'm on when I'm off, it's like quiet time. So people would ask, oh my gosh, we wanna hang out with you. But I had to tell myself, Coco, if you go hang out. You may not carry the same energy you need for tomorrow. So I had to be very, very mindful. And you know, one thing about me is I am not the one that that says, you know, well, I'm hoping that this all goes well, and I leave it up to somebody else to determine how it goes. I am always engaged, I'm always on top of stuff. I always wanna make sure that I'm there for the organizer in whatever they need, because again, this is their show. I'm just the ringleader, right? Or the circus leader, whatever you wanna wanna call it. But ultimately, as an mc, you're leading the event. And it's your job to understand that to the fullest because that's obviously what you get paid for. But you know, you do a good job. You get referred to somebody else, to somebody else, to somebody else, and the next thing you know, you're booked out. And that would be my dream, right? Because I love, I love, love, love, love, love what I do. Now, I always think strategically about my outfits, right? Depending on the event. That's why I ask about the theme and the vibe, because I wanna make sure that I'm matching the energy. That the organizer wants to create. So I think about what I'm gonna wear and make sure I'm comfortable and that it presents visibility and it presents my brand throughout the day. Now, with this event, I kind of wasn't prepared because I did wear heels for eight hours both days. And I was moving. I was moving, moving. So I had to be mindful, mindful about that too. Y'all hear my dogs in the background. Layla wants to give her 2 cents, by the way. And then my, the way that I carry myself in authority, right? I don't have day of show. I, I will tell organizers, no drama. If there's, if there is chaos, we handle it and we talk about it that night when we recap, we don't have time to be wasting on what someone did, what someone didn't do. Where's this, where that if it happens, fix it and let's go. And I lock in my organizers because they're people are looking to them throughout the event. And if an organizer is stressed and is, let me stress you, you are composed, nothing is going wrong, everything is going smooth, is better, and you present that. We talk about all the negative stuff when we recap. At the end of the day. And the last thing I think about is, of course, my alignment with the event. You know, what, what, what is kind of the, the goal of the event, the organizer, their brand, because that's important too. You have to present that on stage. So you are typically, when you do, when I mc, I am taking on that organizer's brand. I'm becoming a part of their brand for that two to three day experience. And lastly is I think of MCing as. The coach, right? When people see me on stage, they are able to see what kind of coach that I am, what kind of leader that I am, and it's proof of work. Like, it's proof of me. The same way I present on stage. It's the same energy that I give to my clients. It's the same kind of energy and direction I want my clients to take. I don't want them to be like me'cause I, there's no other mc out there like me. And there's, there's, every mc is different, right? And I want to make sure that when I'm on stage, I present the kind of. Authority that also falls into place with my, with, with my clients as a coach. So I'm still doing the same things I do in public speaking. I'm, you know, thinking about my presence, I'm thinking about my technique delivery, pause, tone, and the pauses that I use throughout the day. So I'm just not reading off a cue card. Even when I speak, I'm holding space by using my public speaking skills as an mc as well. So I'm not just behind the microphone, you know, saying, Hey guys, welcome to this event, da da. I am talking to them as if I'm, I'm coaching them and moving them through an experience. So last thing I want to discuss is what organizers need to know when it comes to choosing an mc. Okay? It's not just someone that introduces speakers, and I said this throughout the entire episode. You have to find someone that can carry the space in the room for you unless you do it yourself. And even then, you need to have coaching on that because it is a full day of high energy, high engagement to the point where you're gonna have to lock into a part of you that you probably didn't even know existed. You need to find someone that also understands the managed flow in the energy of the room. If they just say, yeah, you know, I can introduce your speaker. Just make sure you have cue cards. That's not how this works. There's so much more into it that goes. There's so much that goes so much more that goes into that piece and what you should expect as an organizer. These are the things that you should automatically expect when you're looking to hire an mc. Prep meetings, the run of show ownership, flexibility, and leadership. You have to make sure that these things are locked in for your mc because again, their representation of you, the event, the brand, and they're leading your audience. And if you have a specific place, you want your audience to land at the end of this event, you have to make sure that your mc understands that and knows how to create that, knows how to get to that end point. And the reason I say this is because an mc, if it's the wrong person, is going, it's going to be disastrous. And I say that because the attendees, they paid to be at this event. They paid for an experience. So you can't be strategic about your speakers, but not be strategic about your mc that you choose, and their experience determines the perceived value. Okay. So how this experience is created, it's like kind of like going to. What's the show? Disney On Ice. You know, if you've ever been, it's a journey that you go on from the lights to the entrance to the exit, you have a full experience. And if there's one small hiccup, that's what you're gonna remember. And lastly, you want momentum. You want forward momentum. You want your audience moving consistently throughout the entire event. You don't have time for, for wait time or pauses or hi, I mean, major hiccups. But if you have an mc, that's good. Those major hiccups won't even be noticeable. So that's a rundown on my life as an mc. I hope you guys got some great information here. Whether you're an organizer, you're a speaker, or you're an inspiring mc, I can honestly tell you this is the favorite, most favorite part of my job, and that's just because, you know, it's just something that I truly enjoy doing and it just feels good. So, you know, as I close this out, I want you guys to really understand that. You know, when an mc is prepared, the event truly flows. You know, it really, really does. And it just feels good. And you as an organizer or an event host, or even as a speaker will walk away being like, man, that show was good. And I love to be a part of it, and I cannot wait to come back. You know?'cause when that exper, when that event flows, ugh, the audience feels it. And when the audience feels it, the experience will last forever. So on that note, if you, if you. Announcements for you all before we close out this episode. Again, as many of you know, I have a speaker community called Standing O, which meets four times a month and it's an annual membership where you work on your public speaking skills and I put you in the hot seat to give you live coaching calls. I'm also opening up VIP days soon and in-person coaching, so more to come on that. If you are in the Orlando area on March 12th, 2026, I'm hosting my first speaker lab or speaker tank, whichever you wanna call it. Uh, speakeasy Orlando. It's gonna be held on March 12th at 7:00 PM at Binks in downtown Orlando. All of the information on both my community and. Attending speaks Orlando will be in the bio. All the notes and the links, all those things will be in the bio. Listen, thank you guys for joining me today. I know it was a little bit longer of an episode, but I hope that you guys have a clear understanding of what to look for if you get an mc, what my life is like as as an mc, and maybe some feedback or ideas if you want to actually be an mc. So again, until next time, thank you guys for joining me for this episode, and we'll see you on the next one. Ciao.