This Is Why The Master of Ceremonies Must Be Early by Kafui Dey

"I'm just around the corner."  These are the very words an event organizer doesn't want to hear from the MC especially when the show should have started 30 minutes ago.  Why is it important for a master of ceremonies to arrive at the venue at least an hour ahead of time?  Here are 6 reasons.

Professionalism

Arriving early immediately sets you apart from 80% of your competition.  Most emcees will turn up late and give a long list of excuses to justify their tardiness.  Don't be like them.  You want to be counted amongst the 20% who are early birds.  Your respect for time indicates that you take the organizer, the event and yourself seriously.

Peace of mind

An organizer is really buying peace of mind when she hires a professional MC. Making it to the venue ahead of schedule gives her one less item to worry about, freeing her to concentrate on other important elements of the event.

Partners

Imagine if you rushed into the function 20 minutes late.  What kind of rapport would you create?  Would it help or hurt the event?When you arrive early, you're likely to meet the various people you will be partnering to make the event a success.  As the master of ceremonies, you coordinate and direct the activities of the caterer, deejay, venue operator, audio-visual technician and ushers.  Introducing yourself to them and getting to know them on a friendly, first name basis is an advantage you gain when you make it a point to be early.

Positioning

If you arrive early, you'll be able, for example, to advise the deejay on where to set up his equipment to take advantage of power points or the acoustics of the venue.  If you're hosting an awards event, you could offer your opinion on how to arrange the plaques depending on how you'll announce the winners.  All this input is only possible if you arrive ahead of time.

Preparation

You are able to finalize your pre-event checks in a quiet, relaxed mood when you arrive early.  You can run through the program with the event coordinator, taking note of any last-minutes changes to the speakers or the program's running order.  You are able to conduct a microphone check without having to subject your guests to endless repetitions of "Testing mic, testing mic!  Try...two!"

Practice

If you are early, you'll have enough time to practice before the event begins.  How will you begin the event in a manner that will arrest the attention of the audience?  How will you introduce the speakers?  How will you wrap up at the end so guests leave the venue with a sense that their time was well spent?  With sufficient time in your hands, you can practice in peace and even visualize yourself doing an excellent job.

Conclusion

Being  early means getting to the venue at least an hour before the first guest is scheduled to arrive.  If an event is billed to start at 8pm with arrival of guests set between 7pm and 8pm, you need to be at the venue at the latest by 6pm.  Who will ever complain that you the master of ceremonies showed up too early?  And since 50% of success consists of just turning  up, why not increase your chances by turning up early?