There are countless events every day. Whether it is formal or informal, people have increasingly gravitated towards mobile events as they take up less time to set up, less effort to organise, and less space to occupy. However, no matter how great your event is, if you do not have a host, you will still not make the most out of your party.
If you are a professional host or simply the one designated for your next family event, you can make your hosting experience efficient if you know what to do. With the help of this article’s five essential tips on how to host a mobile event, you can have a smoother overall experience.
Know Your Audience
Since you will not be able to physically see your audience’s body language to know if your hosting is entertaining them, the best way you can catch their attention is by being relatable to them. To do this, you need to know the demographics of the people who will listen to you. If your audience consists more of adults and professionals, and your event is a company conference, then you should use formal language with little to no informal banters. However, if you are hosting an event for high school or college students for a school organisation, then you should include more trendy terms to make it more engaging for them.
If it is a limited-audience event, chances are the event coordinators set up a registration sheet for attendees. You can ask for the demographics of the attendees if you do not have any idea who will listen to your host.
Have a Good Set-up
A good set-up means good lighting, good virtual background is provided by the event’s team, a stable internet connection, and clear audio and mic. If you have the budget, also invest in a good camera because it will make your set-up look more professional. Remember that since you are hosting virtually, the only thing that can make your audience see you is your camera. So, if you have a blurred, laggy appearance, you will not be eye-catching.
In some cases, hosts use double devices to prevent accidentally disconnecting from the event while hosting. If you have a spare phone or tablet, you can use this as your secondary device which you can use as a screen to see messages and comments from the audience. You can also use it as a script screen to not switch tabs often on your primary device when reading your lines.
Coordinate with Moderators in the Program Flow
Even if the event is virtual, having last-minute problems can force you to make on-the-spot adjustments. For example, if the speaker you are introducing suddenly gets disconnected, you need to improvise your given script and extend the time while waiting for the speaker to reconnect. In most cases, moderators or people in charge of maintaining order in the event, have a backup plan in case a problem like that happens. It is important to meet or talk to the event moderators at least hours or days before the event to know what the alternatives are for common problems.
You should also ask to either be briefed or have a copy of the program format. If you are hosting a webinar, you are usually tasked to welcome everyone in the beginning, introduce each keynote speaker, and moderate the question and answer portion at the end of the program.
Know Which Platform Will Be Used
There are some popular events apps like Eventtia, Zoom, Discord, Facebook Live, and Google Meet. Zoom and Google Meet are relatively the easiest platforms to use if you are a host because you can easily see the comments, participant screen, and host settings within the application. You also do not need to study all the settings in these two applications as it is the simplest to navigate around.
You can simply test run operating the switches you will use in the application before the event. You can set up a meeting of your own using only two devices to see the possible errors you can encounter.
If you are hosting an informal event, chances are your event will take place in Discord. Discord is usually the application used by student organisations as it uses the least-mobile data among the other video conferencing applications. However, since the application has separate channels for video and text, you may have difficulty checking your audience’s comments in one swipe. That is why hosts often use two devices when using Discord to lessen the hassle of switching back and forth between the video and text channels.
Encourage and Moderate Engagement
Whether it is among the event coordinators or your audience, the best way to have an effective hosting experience is if you connect with the people. You do not always have to ask—this is not the only way to engage the audience—you can try other simple ways such as commenting in the general chat box about your thoughts when the speaker is in the spotlight.
Remember that engagements do not only happen during the event, as pre and post-event engagements are equally important. Although you are a host, it does not mean you can only participate in the event properly; you can also help share and increase the publicity of the event you are joining.
As a host, you can moderate engagements reminding your audience to ask and unmute only at necessary times. Whether it is a formal or informal event, creating an organised and respectful environment will help you host more efficiently. In cases where audiences do not follow the rules, you can gently remind them through the chat box or verbally state the rules again.
Conclusion
Whether you are a professional or a freelancer, an effective hosting performance can skyrocket your potential clients by double or triple. Although it is more challenging to connect with your audience because of everyone’s virtual setup, you can still make the event worth attending with the help of your hosting. If you are well-prepared before the event with your good set-up, coordination, and script, you will make your hosting smooth for yourself and engaging for the audience.