Last Updated on January 7, 2019
Yes. I am. For a couple of times at least. To tell you the truth, it is an awesome experience! 🙂 Especially when you are MC-in for huge international events. I am so thankful for my American accent I got since I was little and my brain who’s constantly thinking of English phrases out of the blue. So that’s one of the main reason why I specifically do English speaking events, since for Indonesian events there are more “famous” MC out there. Yeah, you know who they are. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do Indonesian events. We’re all still learning here :3
The last MC job that I had done is with my college-lifelong partner in crime, Dito. It was for the Welcoming Dinner for ASEAN University Network Quality Assessment Program Level Activity for IPB. It was pretty fancy with the Rector, Dean of Fac. of Agriculture & Fisheries and Marine Science and all the head of department. It wasn’t too hard since Dito and I have done several MCing jobs together. It was a nice collaboration 🙂 Hopefully it wasn’t the last, since now I have to go to Graduate School and he’s finishing up his degree and going straight to work. :’) Nice doing events together with you Buddy!
The first big MC job I got was for ISEE 2011 International Festival with Fajar M. It was fun because it was in GWW but it was kind of nervewrecking because the building is huge! While the first international MC job I got was with Febri for the APFP SEA-Peat. It was a conference on enhancing the peat land sustainability. In that event, I got to work with people from Malaysia who was the event coordinator! So it was pretty cool to work with foreigners.
Other major events was the EXPERT III Socialization in AHN Auditorium. It was the socialization of one of the Erasmus Mundus program, where representatives from the universities in Europe was there to give presentations. It was very fun since I got to volunteer throughout the event also and get to work with the great people in IPB International Collaboration Office. The perks of getting this job are so many! After that, it was another job for 2 days in the First International Student Forum in Indonesia, again with ICO and this time in collaboration with DIKTI. It is pretty tiring but on the other side, it gives me so much. I learn so much from being an MC. 🙂
Besides the ability to speak well and to not get stage fright, here’s a few tips from me.
- Before you say yes to an MC offer, do make sure your schedule does not overlap. If your schedule is tight, please inform the committee beforehand.
- Coordinate well with the committee. Ask them the background of the event, the dresscode or is there anything special about the event. It is for the sake of the event, committe and your face so it is not embarassing. :3
- If you are with a partner (or not), practice! Make a script if you like, so you don’t get the words tangled up. Especially if there are important people involved.
- Make sure your pronounciation is right. Especially in foreign people names. I personally take a caution in pronouncing Thai’s people name. It is so hard. -_-
- During the event, ask for a MC coordinator or assistant. So if an event is slightly altered, or if a new unanounced guest have arrived, you can be informed quickly.
- It’s nice to get pay, but don’t expect too much, especially if you are still a student hahahaha. That’s why we need to go professional really quickly! :3
- Be a quick thinker! Be witty. Be funny. Don’t be boring and go overboard though. Be a nice combination of what you think the perfect MC is like. 🙂
I think that pretty much sums up the tips. Trust me, the skills and the experience you get is beneficial for the future. And last, if you ever need an almost native English speaking with an American accent MC, you can contact me. 😉 Hahaha, cheers!
