The quiet skill every MC needs

Reading a room in real time separates a smooth event from an awkward one. A good MC knows the run sheet; a great MC knows when to throw it away.

Watch the back rows, not the front. The front rows are polite; the back rows tell you the truth. When people start drifting to the bar or their phones, it is time to change the energy — a quick audience question, a stretch, a well-timed story.

Keep a pocket of material ready for the moments that go wrong: a speaker who runs late, a projector that dies, an award winner who isn't in the room. At a Durban awards gala last year we lost power for six minutes. A short game of 'guess the year' with the front table kept six hundred guests laughing until the lights came back.

Above all, remember the job: make everyone else look good. When the speakers shine and the evening runs on time, nobody remembers the MC — and that is the point.