How to find the perfect host for your event in five steps

Everyone who has ever hosted an event knows that it is extremely important to find the right person to host it. The success or failure of an event is down to the presenter. His or her task is to lead the audience from A to B in style. 

Maybe you know it or have experienced it before: you excitedly attend a wedding party to which you’ve been invited as a guest. But the DJ  unfortunately has no sense of timing and no aptitude for gauging the  mood of the guests and the songs are also not adapted to the guests. In summary, the DJ does not have the right skills to turn a party into an unforgettable day. The result: the wedding party is a failure and the bride and groom are annoyed that they did not search carefully for the ideal person. The most beautiful day of their lives has become a failure. Such an experience is avoidable, and I’ll show you how to avoid it.

In this article, I will demonstrate to you how to find the ideal host for your event. We are not only looking for the right presenter; n, we are looking for the perfect presenter.

By reflecting upon the following questions, you will reach your goal.

1. What do I want to achieve with the event?

We start with a few basic questions:

• What do you want to achieve with your event? 
• What should your audience do? 
• What is the basic goal of the event? 

With this question, we lay the emotional foundation. Because every event, every seminarand every festivity has a goal as its basis.

Let’s take our above mentioned wedding celebration. The emotional goal is the following: the invited guests should feel comfortable. The party should be remembered as a glittering, unique celebration by both the wedding couple and the guests.

Or let’s take a sales event, such as the notorious advertising sales-events for rheumatism mattresses. Here it becomes particularly clear; if the presenter is not excellent and well-trained, he cannot convince the audience and the goal is missed. The meeting remains unsuccessful and only a few mattresses will be sold.

Also with seminars, which are to convey “only” knowledge, the ideal presenter is an important asset. If he or she does not succeed in captivating and inspiring the audience, valuable information remains unheard. The goal of “imparting knowledge” is not achieved.

You surely realize that it is of the utmost importance to think in advance about what you want to achieve with the planned event. 

The next question we will ask ourselves is no less important.

2. Who is my audience?

If you are planning an event, a gathering or a party, you should know exactly who the presenter is supposed to captivate. The host works like a bridge; he or she is the link between the audience and the actual goal of the event. This is THE main objective as an organizer.

This means that the answer to this initial question determines which presenter you will look for. The more homogeneous the crowd, the easier it is to find the right presenter. The more complicated and diverse the audience, the greater the challenge in finding a suitable host.

So, define your audience. Distinguish whether you are more likely to deal with chairmen of the board or a young party-audience. The better you are informed about the demographic details, the better. Also consider why your guests want to attend the event. What is their emotional involvement? What is the general attitude of the audience towards the planned event?

Of course you won’t be able to answer this question in detail. However, the better you know your audience, the easier it will be to find the right presenter for your event. The presenter should be able to speak the “language” of the audience – not only figuratively, but often literally as more often than not, a language other than his or her native tongue will be required for an event.

Let’s move on to the third question.

3. What should happen at the event?

After thinking about the goal of your event and who your audience is, we now come to the content. Before you find the ideal presenter, you need to think about the content. It is similar to the what in which every master chef thinks about the ingredients that go into his creation.

These ingredients or contents can include:

• Panel discussions
• Performances involving a band or solo artist
• Short rounds of talks
• Group work
• Entertainment
• Keynotes and/or
• Content in the form of a lecture

Of course, it is not only the content that counts, but also the structure that the ideal presenter should adhere to. You are the editor of your event, and the right presenter puts your thoughts into action. Create a director’s plan. And don’t worry, if the plan is not yet set in stone and you are unsure… the perfect presenter will gladly support you with his experience in planning.

Now we reach the crucial point.

4. What does the ideal host have to bring along?

The most important thing: the presenter must suit you and your image or your event.

All previous considerations are taken into account when thinking about the ideal presenter. “Suit you and your image” also means that you need to be clear whether you prefer a host who reflects you and your personality or one that polarizes and emotionally charges your brand.

Think about whether it makes more sense to choose a man or a woman who is more suited to your audience and topic. For some target groups and topics, it is also important to find a person who is the right age. The question is always: do I trust this presenter to lead this group?

But the most important thing is that the facilitator you choose is confident and has the necessary authority. If he or she is multilingual and already has experience, the probability that you have found the right person to lead the group increases. 

Of course, your considerations are also influenced by the question of the budget. What budget is available to you? Please keep in mind that you can expect higher quality if you are willing to spend a little more. Unknown newcomers are cheaper than known TV stars. However, the experienced event-presenter will often be more profitable for your event than a well-known TV face.

In any case, ask for experience in the different fields. My industry experience has shown me that very few TV presenters are also good event presenters. Why is that? The explanation is obvious: presenters that strictly work within the medium of television usually have little or no experience in intimate,, direct contact with the audience. In addition, you can’t just cut something out or repeat a scene at a live event; live is live!

Event presenters who have frequently hosted live events are often much more flexible and able to react confidently to small challenges and disturbances.

When asked what the ideal presenter should bring to the event, the following considerations also play a role:

• Is there a director on site besides the presenter? 
• Do I have an assistant for the presenter in case of a complex presentation? 
• Or is the presenter himself or herself responsible for directing and staying within his or her allotted time?

Good hosts are flexible and adapt to the circumstances.

5. Where can I find the right host?

After you have worked through all the points, we will work together to find the right host for you.

You can do this in the obvious way: ask Google! You will find hundreds of answers to this question from Google and Co. But which one is the right one?

The next possibility is to contact professional presenter-agencies.

Or you can ask friends, other companies or colleagues who have already gained experience with presenters. Recommendations in this area are well worth it.

How I can help you as your event host

Also good to know: a good presenter usually has his own homepage. You can get detailed information about my services as a presenter on my website. Have a look at my references and videos of presentations and get in touch with me right away.

What do you think makes the ideal presenter? What challenges are you aware of regarding the search for the right person to host your event? Tell me about your experiences in the comments.