Top Tips: What To Look For In A Good Awards Host

You may have noticed that anyone and everyone is having an awards dinner these days. In all honesty, it’s always been like this it’s just that with the advent of social media, each and every award show’s hashtag can trend for a couple of hours on a weekday evening if enough of the attendees are encouraged to talk about the occasion on Twitter. The drink is flowing, the entertainment is brilliant and everybody is there to have a good time and celebrate the people doing well in a given industry.

But the person that holds it together is undoubtedly the presenter. So what should you be looking for in a good awards host

Passion

You can hire a celebrity for an awful lot of money to present your awards evening, but having that well known bloke from that show on Instagram won’t matter a jot if they don’t offer up any passion when introducing the show and announcing the awards nominees. If you go with personality rather than a ‘name’, then you’ll be far more likely to find a presenter  that fits with the brand and ethos of what you’re going for. Don’t ignore celebrities and TV presenters completely (there’s usually a reason they’ve risen to the top), but take your time to pick one that has the passion you’re after.

Confidence

Any presenter worth their salt should have confidence. A confident delivery and manner is the very least you should expect. In keeping with this, a brilliant host can dispense with a script completely and confidently deliver an entire ceremony in a way that appears natural, engaging and enjoyable.

Humour

There’s no doubt about it, awards shows can be a stuffy affair. You need a funny speaker to help get you through the evening.

Research

As every student and any person awaiting a job interview will tell you, research is everything! The same is true for events and awards hosts Presenters often receive the names of difficult-to-pronounce names of nominees in advance to ensure perfect pronunciation on the night. Not only that, but the host should seek to ensure that they know their audience; there’s nothing worse than a an awards hosts pronouncing a name wrongly.

Professionalism

There’s nothing worse than somebody doing something for the pay cheque, which is always a possibility when you’re hiring someone for a lot of money whom might not be interested in the awards they’re giving out. Your awards hosts should  go the extra mile to ensure your awards ceremony is one to remember. Rehearsals are key to this as is the knowledge that for many people in the audience, this is the biggest night of the year.