Communicate with Confidence/Project Report

              NOTE: In this case it was necessary to seat two females
together in order to have men on the outside ends ( protocol
to do so). However, the Guest of Honour, MC, president,
Manager and Foreman ( or some of them) may be women, so
their spouses would be men. Or there may be only women or
only men present The only hard and fast rule is that the MC
sits in the middle and the Guest of Honour to the MC's right.
Protocol, or ' rank'
We have said that introductions and seating are
determined by ' importance'. How do we determine that rank9
First, the program director will determine the rank
within the business, organization or university, etc
Guests, however are usually just listed as ' guests'.
Rule of thumb in this case is....
Elected officials are senior to appointed
They are ranked by the level of government they represent
Navy is senior to army which is senior to air force.
Military personnel are graded by their rank
If protocol is really important to the occasion, government
and military have protocol officers you can consult
Checklist # 2 . ..
have you. .
- checked your program with the director to see that the
sequence is agreeable to them and nothing has
been left out - gone over your program, checking
time of each segment and overall time
- highlighted areas of importance
- prepared notes on all participants, arranged them in
sequence and attached to the program agenda so
you can make relevant, interesting comments as
you move from item to item.
- considered your proposed comments with a view to timing.
taste and tact
- looked over the program for any religious, social, cultural
or political considerations,
planned introductions ( and seating) with a view to proper
protocol
- planned a little fill- in that you can use if needed.
- made all your notes in large print on numbered cards or
pages, and made copies
Introductions & Acknowledgements
Always introduce head table or dignitaries or
special guests in order of importance. You should start with
lesser importance and lead up to the ' star'. This way the
applause reaches the highest level at the star's' intro.
For instance, the Bride & Groom at a wedding, the
Guest of Honour at a dinner, the person who is to be awarded,
the grads at a convocation are the ' stars' so should be last.
It seldom works to ask the audience to hold their
applause till all are introduced, so allow an extra minute and
encourage them to clap.
When introducing a list of people, ask them to stand when
named, and remain standing till all are introduced.
If you are introducing someone who will later
speak, keep the intro as simple as the others, but say that
this person will be more fully introduced later.
Introductions can be quite simple " Sitting at the
far end of the table, the groomsman ( and brother of the
bride), Joe White", or more involved ( tell a short anecdote
about Joe White) ... BUT, you should always indicate where
he is sitting, his title ( or part in the event) and his name
Don't try to be the star. Your duty is to have the
audience focus on the people you are introducing.
Introducing and thanking speakers
When you introduce a speaker ( see Chapter 5), the
audience wants to know a little more about this person, so
give some background.
Wait till this person gets to the podium, then step
away ( You may shake hands in some situations). You are
' turning the mike over' to this person. .. don't leave before
he gets there.
Always thank ( or in some way recognize) the
speaker when he is done ( ie: Thank you, Mary, for that
toast. Now I would like to introduce Mr. Jim Smith,
company president, to reply.)
A speaker may be introduced by the MC or another
person may be appointed. ( In which case, the MC would do a
simple introduction of the introducer).
A special or guest speaker should be formally
thanked, and this may be done by the MC or by a person
appointed to do so ( who could be introduced by the MQ
During an introduction, it is sometimes smart to
give a future speaker some warning This can be done
tactfully " Thank you Mrs. Smith for that interesting
speech. Now, before we start the presentations, I would like
to introduce Mr Jim Brown who will call the
roll ". You thanked Mrs Smith,
introduced Mr Brown and alerted the presenter that his act
was coming u p . so he can get all his papers together
Humour
The perception of an MC is often more like that of
a stand up comedian Of course you should do your job in an
entertaining way, but your basic duty is to arrange, conduct
and guide, the program and presenters in an organized and
informed manner, within the time limitations.
Use of humour ( kind and amount) is dependent on
the nature of the event.
Humour can be actual jokes, anecdotes, true stories,
or even ' telling tales' on the participants
BUT... Keep it APPROPRIATE for the occasion and the
aiKhence. Be TACTFUL and TASTEFUL