Some Tips on Hosting

After writing my last entry about that show I was at, it really got me thinking about the importance of a good host. Had somebody who was a competent host been at the helm, the show might have ended up being dramatically different than it was.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m a great host. I’m competent at best. If you want to watch a great host, check out somebody like Simon Rakoff. When I first started, Simon was hosting a lot at the old Laugh Resort. He made it look so easy. He has such a way with the crowd, he seamlessly integrates material with crowd work and keeps the show moving. If you see that Simon is hosting somewhere, you should check it out. There are others I like to watch too, but now that I’m writing this, none come to mind.

Before I started hosting, comedian Scott Harris had a series on Andrew Grose’s blog about hosting. I looked for it, but can’t seem to find it now, but it listed a lot of the key points to being an effective host. After reading that, you can see how to effectively run a show. If anybody can find it, let me know, it’s a great resource for anybody wanting to get better as a host.

Some of the things I remember from it as well as some other tips I’ve picked up along the way are:

1.)    It’s your show, but the show isn’t about you – In other words, you are responsible for running the show, but it is more about setting the table for the other comics on the show so they can look good, rather than doing your headlining act. Too often you’ll see hosts just do material and make the show all about them. This is when you get comics doing 30 minutes off the top and doing unnecessary material between acts. Instead, a good host will do some material off the top to get the crowd ready to laugh. This can usually be done effectively with about 8 to 12 minutes of good material. A host will also reset the room in between acts. When somebody bombs, it’s the host’s job to bring the crowd back. On the flip side, if somebody absolutely destroys and you know the next comic can’t follow them, you need to bring the room down a notch or two. Also, if somebody is dirty or dark, you may want to reset the room after them by doing some cleaner or more upbeat material.

2.)    Announce the show off the top – It is your job to welcome the audience to the show. Thank them for coming, tell them who is on the show, with real, genuine introductions to at least the headliner, and maybe one or two of the better known acts. If it is an open mic show, tell them. Don’t try to sell it as the best show ever, but tell them that there may be some great comedy, and there may be some less than great comedy. This does a couple of things. First, it sets their expectation about what is going to happen. Second, when you announce the names, the natural reaction is for them to applaud, so right off the top, you can get them clapping at least three times. It grabs their attention and does a little audience training.

3.)    Do some material right away – Once you’ve announced the show, do a few minutes of quick, punchy jokes. This gets the crowd laughing relatively early and trains them to hear jokes. Once you’ve done 3 to maybe 5 minutes of jokes, you can consider doing some crowd work.

4.)    Crowd work isn’t always necessary – When you’re doing a club show, you pretty much have to do the basic crowd stuff, like birthdays and celebrations and stuff. It’s pretty much obligatory. But you don’t have to dwell on it. Just acknowledge them, try to make a couple of quick jokes about it, and move on. Acknowledging this stuff early on gets it out of the way and they are much less likely to disrupt the show later on. But once you’ve done that, you can pretty much just focus on jokes and keeping the show rolling. You can do crowd work, but just make sure you know what you’re doing. What usually works for me is I will ask leading questions that will take me into one of my bits. Usually it works pretty well. But don’t feel that just because you’re hosting you have to do a shit ton of crowd work.

5.)    Give each act a proper and genuine introduction – That’s just like it sounds. Be genuine with your intros. Where possible, make sure you get any credits or other info from the comic beforehand. And don’t be like me where you introduce everybody as “very funny”. I am trying to break that habit, but it’s hard. But really, try to show that you’re genuinely looking forward to each act on the show.

6.)    Don’t bad mouth acts – Sometimes a comic sucks. Obviously you have to address it, but don’t make it seem like you’re piling on. Chance are the comic knows they sucked, they don’t need you telling them, but you do have to address it. Even something simple like “well that happened” or something similar will break that tension and the audience will feel comfortable enough to laugh again.

7.)    Keep the show moving – Most shows will have an end time. It’s your job to keep the show on time. If somebody goes over their time, it comes out of theirs. If somebody goes short, you have to make up the time to make sure the show stays on track. Obviously this is more important in a club show, but even open mics need to keep moving, otherwise you risk losing the crowd.

8.)    Be yourself – There is a misconception that you have to be upbeat to be a good host. That’s not necessarily true. If you’re not that kind of person, pretending you are will make you look like a fraud to the audience. But you do have to be a little more “friendly” with your material. You probably don’t want to do stuff that is too dark or dirty because that can often leave the audience uncomfortable and make it tougher for the other comics on the show.

9.)    Close the show – When the headliner / last act is done, it’s your job to shut things down. First, you’ll want to thank the audience for coming out and supporting the show. I always like to ask them if they had a good time and if they did to tell their friends. Next, thank the servers and remind the audience to tip them well. I’m not sure if it works, but it keeps the servers on your side, and that’s rarely a bad thing. Then do any announcements that the booker or venue wants you to do. This includes things like upcoming shows, the website, or comment cards. Then I thank the comics on the show. If it’s a small show, name them all, if it’s a larger show, I’ll do something like “a big round of applause for all the comics on the show tonight.” In that case, if there are a few well known acts, I’ll mention them by name, of if somebody totally killed, I’ll highlight them. And then to close it out, I always try to invite them to stick around and have some drinks at the bar. I never tell them that the night is over, because really the bar wants to sell beers. They can’t do that if you send the crowd home.

I’m sure there are countless things I’ve missed. Feel free to add them in the comments section.