What Makes a Great Corporate Trivia Host “Great?”

A couple of months ago, I wrote an article here on my blog called “Why is a Good Corporate Trivia Host So Hard to Find?” The main idea of that piece was that what we do here at TrivWorks is specialized; not every corporate emcee has the experience or skills necessary to deliver the experience.

I’m extremely selective about whom I choose to work with, whom I trust to represent me in front of my clients – who in turn are trusting ME to represent THEM in front of colleagues, clients or event attendees. I’m not looking to replicate myself, mind you. I don’t go around looking for people who will lead events exactly the way I do, in my style. Rather, I seek out professionals who have the chops to do this, and do it in a way which reflects well on me and the brand I’ve built over the past 15 years.

Basically, I’m looking for people who are great.

But what does “great” mean? Let’s break it down a bit, and see what it is I’m looking for in my hosts – and what I’m striving to be myself.

Professionalism

This goes at the top of my list. A great corporate trivia host MUST be professional. What do I mean by that? He or she must exude professionalism, from the first moment arriving to the venue, till the winning team is declared. This includes but is not limited to the following:

• Arriving on time, if not early
• Being polished/dressed appropriately for the occasion
• Treating everyone with respect
• Being respectful of the venue’s staff and equipment
• Being clean on the microphone – never using profanity, etc.
• Ability to read the room, to approach “the line” but never cross it
• Being flexible, patient and accommodating to changing circumstances & unexpected situations
• Being warm and outgoing, radiating positive energy and enthusiasm
• Being prepared (more on this below)

Trivia hosts who meet the above criteria command respect from the audience, as well as provide peace of mind for the event organizer. Click here for an example of just that.

Being Personable

It goes without saying that a great trivia host is comfortable onstage in front of people, a dynamic public speaker not afraid of his or her own voice. However, this is also live interactive event entertainment; it’s a people job with no filter, no screen to hide behind, no way to pause the action. Whomever is hosting has to enjoy working with people, and understand at least to some degree how people operate in group settings. Illusionist Ryan Oakes, one of the corporate entertainers whom I work with, likes to reference the old showbiz adage, “Get them to like you, and they’ll like what you do.” Hosts who know how to immediately connect with an audience will succeed at this far easier than those who don’t.

Being Prepared

This is part of professionalism, however I’m giving it it’s own section since it’s so important. Even the most experienced among us should never “wing it” in front of a corporate audience. The best hosts arrive having done the legwork, meaning he or she has completed the following in advance:

• Knowing the client’s company & industry
• Knowing the audience – demographics, where they’re from, what type of people they are, etc.
• Reviewed the materials, familiarizing himself/herself with the content and flagging any potential issues
• Been made aware of any sensitive topics, etc. to avoid
• Has all of the necessary materials and supplies to run the event
• Knows about the venue’s capabilities/limitations, as well as any special items, equipment etc. which need to be brought along

The main point is, you can’t be “great” if you show up unprepared. The best among us know this, and arrive ready to go each and every time, ready to command an audience.

Competence

The greatest hosts for corporate trivia events know what they’re doing. That much seems obvious, but I have to include it here. It’s like anything else: you learn by doing. When the event is important and the stakes are high, you want the most-experienced professional leading it. This is true for anything, be it brain surgery or corporate entertainment. You want the person who’s done this the most times, for the most people, and has the best reviews. Your local pub quiz host could be naturally gifted at public speaking, but without the requisite experience in front of professional audiences, they won’t know the nuances and such necessary to deliver a top-notch experience.

To be a truly “great” host, you need to earn the skills and experience that only time and repetition reward. There’s no cutting corners here, it really is a requirement. I spent years hosting regular pub quizzes in Manhattan and Brooklyn before I felt truly comfortable leading corporate events – and have been striving ever since to achieve a level of “greatness.”

Confidence

Hand in hand with competence is knowing you know what you’re doing – and communicating that to the audience as well. To be truly great at hosting, you need to be 100% certain that you’ve got this, that you own it, that you have what it takes to lead the event. Does this mean you have all the answers, no puns intended? Of course not. I’ve personally emceed North of 1,000 trivia events, and I still run into things I’ve never encountered before. But I have the deep experience and know-how required to know I can get through ANYTHING, and can deliver the experience I was hired to do. This is truly the sign of a top-notch performer, who is a master of his or her craft.

Great Comedic Timing

If you’ve ever been to a trivia event with an unfunny host, you know how important a good sense of humor is. It’s not just a nice thing to have, it’s essential for keeping an event lighthearted and an audience enjoying themselves. You simply can’t be a great corporate trivia emcee without having excellent comedic timing. The host has to be able to react in real-time with witty banter, riffing on material, even heckling comebacks. The best do this instinctively, and with years of practice, can learn the rhythms and flows of the gig to know when to strategically place humor, as well as look for opportunities to make the crowd laugh. Here’s a good example of just that.

Conclusion: What Makes a Great Trivia Host?

Truth be told, there really aren’t that many people out there with the right combination of natural talent and learned skills to be truly great professional trivia hosts. It takes more than a good stage presence and the ability to read questions and answers off of a piece of paper to be a top emcee. Some traits are innate, such as being personable or having a good sense of humor. Others have to be learned over time with years of practice, such as honing delivery and managing the unexpected. But when the stars DO align, it’s the perfect mix for this highly unique, specialized and somewhat quirky professional service TrivWorks offers.

After all, the last thing you want is for THIS guy showing up to host your event: