‘An MC is not a comedian’ – Otefe-Edebi

In my opinion, being a full time compere can be referred to as a profession on its own.Its serious business and very lucrative if you have the right machinery in terms of skills, publicity and patronage.

Well it could be part of a whole curriculum like arts, entertainment, communication, show business or any other field that leverages strongly on public speaking. A special school just for being a compere might be extreme. The major challenges and bulk of personal development exercises though for someone interested in this field would be things like building confidence, conquering stage fright, diction& grammar improvement.

Let me paint a picture that will attempt to answer this question. In Lagos alone I was reliably informed that following an event venue audit, there are at least 600 event venues active every Saturday for weddings and other activities. Let’s assume half of those events are wedding receptions  which must have an MC and these MCs range  from celebrity MCs to the smooth talking relative, with a very conservative average fee  per MC pegged at N50,000, that brings the worth of the industry to about Fifteen Million Naira for just one Saturday for weddings in Lagos state alone , not to mention all theother types of events in the other 300 venues plus other days of the week. The industry is huge and there is so much room because unlike catering or event planning an MC/Compere can only be in one place at a time.

The entry barrier is very low. Once a person believes he/she can speak well and are not afraid of the crowd, possibly they believe they have humor as well, then they make themselves available for any willing client. It requires little or no capital if you have a nice outfit or a friend to lend you your outfit and another friend to drop you at the venue.In some cases, you  are lucky, and you are paid  either part or all of your money before the event so you can buy what you need if you want and get yourself there but at the end of the day, some of these enthusiasts have wrecked a lot of events. Some clients are even forced to take on celebrities like actors or musicians as MCs for their events just because they are great on TV but will they be great with engaging your crowd? Its not bad to identify potential and want to harness it but I believe so much in training and it would be great if we had talent managers who clients can rely on to give them trained MCs for various events from formal to  social. Personally I dream of growing bigger to be known globally as a quintessential  and dynamic  brand as far as compering events goes. Then as I grow I am training and raising others under my communication company so people with different budgets can access excellent comperes for their various events.They look at my quality as a standard guarantee that anyone from under Voicewox(my company) must be a great MC.

I am a very firm believer and advocate of the mantra that every single person in the communication business has a role to play in nation building..from movie makers to musicians and yes MCs. What we say and how we say what we say speaks volumes to the listeners. We are automatic leaders of thoughts and influencers of ideas. You can leave an event and days after still be laughing or upset when you recall what the MC said, so yes I agree we are powerful. Personally I try to chip in some positive thoughts when I am on stage. e.g. at weddings I proudly let them know I am a successful product of intertribal marriage, at another event one time, I used humorous examples to advocate for keeping Nigeria clean. Such roles can shape our society for the better if we actively think about it.

There used to be this challenge of competing with comedians for space and even when you get the job, the crowd expects you to behave like a comedian. Meanwhile we are not the same. An MC is not a comedian. An MC might be funny, some comedians might be good MCs but ultimately our functions at events are not the same. However I see that challenge as no longer existent for me because I think I have outgrown that crowd that doesn’t understand the difference. These days, I am specifically sought out by people who are clear on the difference. Between 2008 to 2010, I also did some advocacy work in my own little way using articles, my old blog and opportunities to speak at events to highlight the differences between a comedian and an MC/Compere. That doesn’t mean an MC shouldn’t  bring humor to the table, except in cases where the clients specifically advice against any jokes and give strict instructions for a strict, formal interaction all through. This brings me to the next challenge, some clients and some MCs underestimate the importance of planning an event before D-Day. My best events are those where a proper planning meeting or rehearsal occurred before D-Day. It doesn’t mean somethings might not change but it always comes out better because expectations are aligned. The other challenge is the perception of star power. Clients will rate and pay an in-experienced radio or TV personality higher than you forgetting that  live crowd engagement is different so I have since started playing in the media space with a couple of my own radio shows  on various radio platforms and I have some TV gigs in the making; both film, series and talkshows . I also featured in the Audrey Silver hit movie ‘Surulere’ which was sold out in cinemas. The beauty of God’s grace is that I happen to do TV and radio fabulously so I can only fully overcome this challenge in a matter of time.

Beyond being female, classy, beautiful, confident, articulate, funny, decent, warm and respectful, I also have a strong corporate and marketing communications background in both Banking and Telecommunications in Nigeria. I did almost 2 years in Banking and 12 years in Telecommunications so you find that I understand business protocol, language and the brand or business communication objectives at formal and corporate events. I also have strong Christian and family values which have qualified me to be the compere of several high impact social religious events.