Let me tell you a story.
Ten years ago, I was brought in to help a hostile group break its own negativity. This was right at the beginning of my speaking career. My talk was titled “Pressure Cooker Confidence!” Nothing like talking on confidence when you feel yours dripping away moment by moment.
Four huge guys sat front and center. They looked like ANGRY Hells Angels: arms crossed, big bushy beards, & big noticeable tattoos. They scowled for my whole talk. I don’t think I can even scowl like they did, let alone for 90 minutes!
I (successfully) fought to be positive the whole way through, trying desperately not to give in to my internal screaming.
Then, at the end, the biggest one levered himself out of his chair, and I was like, “He’s way bigger now than he was sitting down.” Then he lumbers over to me and he gets way closer than he should, right up into my personal space. He’s so close his beard is scratching the side of my face as he whispers into my ear: “I think that was the best talk I’ve ever heard!” I lean back and look at him and go,
“Well, maybe you should tell your face that!”
The last one to know how you did in the room is you. When you’re under stress, your impressions are not to be trusted. I was under stress, and I saw four very angry people, but that was just my stress talking. They LOVED my talk. The kind of love that makes you get up out of your chair & go over to a stranger & whisper in their ear something magical.
But not everyone can keep up a confident front while everything inside is screaming in fear.
That’s one of the rare skills of a GREAT EMCEE — reading a room properly even when your own nerves get in the way. Our emcees are professional actors, facilitators & keynote speakers who do exactly that, for a living. When things go wrong on a stage, you need an emcee who has this rare skill. That’s what Engagement Unlimited provides.
“Your great ability to ‘read the room’ and think on your feet with quick wit is so natural! Thank you for the great energy you brought to our event!”
— Liana Duff, Tourism Whistler
This Is Who You Want at the Front of Your Room
We have a roster of amazing and engaging emcees. See our emcees in action →
- 33 years creating engagement energy
- 1,100+ organizations served
- 92% rebooking — clients keep coming back
“I did not know I needed an MC until we had one! Stefano was amazing. It was incredible to watch him work his magic while I sat back and actually enjoyed the entire evening, instead of running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Now that we’ve experienced what a professional MC does, we will NEVER do it ourselves again.”
— Sandy Heer, HR Manager, Mainland Construction Materials
So before your next event, one question is worth sitting with:
who’s going to ENGAGE YOUR ROOM? → Engage the Room
PS — This is a skill that you can learn. It’s captured in Roger’s course, Pressure Cooker Confidence: The Me YOU Want to Be → https://engagementunlimited.ca/course-pressure-cooker-confidence/
Friday Fun 🤩
Let’s be like this kitten…
Let the weekend begin!
Happy weekend 🙂
