HOW THE ROLE OF A CONFERENCE MC HAS CHANGED
The role of a conference MC has changed as they now need to possess business acumen to help you get the best return on the conference or event.
I’ve been facilitating, MCing and speaking at conferences and events for over 20 years, and during that time, I’ve seen many changes.
An evolution
In the good old days, a great MC introduced the event, the speakers and kept the energy levels bumping along. That changed around the GFC when the MC needed to become a theme weaver and connect the dots because clients needed greater ROI on their events to achieve their business outcomes and retention.
But now…there’s another layer a great MC needs to possess. That’s business acumen
The new role of a Conference MC
Joining the dots is one thing, but a great MC needs to understand why those dots connect and what they mean. They must be across current business and social issues such as ESG (environment, sustainability and governance). They need to speak the language of executives to understand the brief, objectives, challenges and aspirations. They need to understand engagement and facilitate discussion, ask deep questions when interviewed, evoke thinking and help shift behaviours. They should be able to open or close a conference and inspire participants to take action. They must be the full package, facilitator, interviewer, educator, and speaker.
Taking that one step further, perhaps the term conference MC should be banned, and replaced by the term conference facilitator.
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