Poly50 race was my second official hosting event. When I first watched Poly50 race during year 1, I was merely a volunteer, not yet in SP’s Compéres CCA. Fast forward a year, and I am now hosting the event!
Thanks to my mentors Nat, Jane and Dillon, and my co-host Avreil, I had an enjoyable emceeing experience. Here are some of my reflections from this recent experience:
Strengths (& tips):
Preparation and Collaboration: With Avreil’s help, I was able to be quite familiar with the content. We dug out information and drafted multiple scenarios prior to the actual event. Through these exchanges, it helped build rapport and improve our synergy
Tone: Compared to my first hosting experience (SP graduation ceremony 2024), my voice was no longer as monotonous. Placing emphasis on certain words gave my voice more “crescendo”, similar to High and Low key notes on a piano. It made me sound more energetic
Interview: At the start of each interview, simply being able to pronounce the names of interviewees correctly is a small but important detail. It allowed the interview to get off on the right note. At the end of each interview, I was also able to summarise the interviewees’ responses accurately
Areas for Improvement:
Synergy: When co-hosting an event, your co-host is your “partner-in-crime”. Avoid using language / words like “but” and “however” which could undermine your partner. Also, avoid cutting them off. Instead, learn to build off what each other is saying. E.g. "So Avreil, why don't we tell the audience why Ning plants trees". rather than saying "So Avreil, why do you think Ning plant trees?" The former shows that the emcees are well-prepared, and not clarifying their doubts with their co-host
Tone: Unconsciously, my Singlish came out a bit too strong. Fortunately, I had someone (thanks Dillon!) to inform me. I will take note of this and try to overcome this habit next time
Delivery: Nat and Jane showed me that co-hosting an event is akin to striking up a conversation with your friend, albeit in a professional manner. We do not need to use fancy words nor stick exactly to the scripted words, which could cause us to freeze when we cannot recall that exact word in our script! Instead, simple words, with clear dialogue spoken with confidence will come across much better
Interview: The first step is to always smile and make your interviewee comfortable. Start by getting their background, e.g. What is their name? Which school are they from? Next, understand their objective, e.g. Why did they participate in this event? Lastly, write down the key points on a piece of paper (avoid forgetting the key points shared). After interviews are done, we can then make inferences based off their responses. During future commentaries, I do not need to keep repeating the same points about the event. I can also share how the participants felt during the event, making it more relatable with the audience.
Questioning Techniques: I concluded each of my interviews with a "Thank you and congratulations" to signal the interview's end. However, this was deemed too abrupt. Leka suggested using small talk to conclude more effectively. E.g. “Wow, that’s interesting. Thank you Abigail and James for your heartfelt sharings. I will continue to walk around W13 to ask other runners how they felt. In the meantime, enjoy the nice breeze and get recharged when the race continues!” Small details like this make all the difference
In summary, I was so nervous leading up to this event. However, having good support and guidance from seniors like Nat, Jane and Dillon gave me the strength to push through. Special shoutout to my co-host, Avreil. Although she is just as new to the CCA, whenever I was uncertain, she stepped in and fill that gap.
In hindsight, I picked up a lot from this experience. I promise to not let other factors influence my performance on stage and work on my weaker areas before my next event.
Chia Howie
01 August 2024
TLDR
Reflections on my 2nd hosting experience via Poly50 race, including what I did well and areas of improvement. So glad I joined SP’s Compéres CCA!
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