Journalism of Courage
While definitely an entertaining profession,compering is all about being spontaneous and reinventing oneself
They keep us glued to our seats,with their charm and wit and more often than not act as strings on which entire events are woven. Their appearances combined with an astute sense of timing blows life into any events that they conduct. Compering may look like an easy thing; however it is a very demanding and job of high responsibility.
Compering in fact is one of the professions where you have to reinvent yourself as there is a possibility of being typecast and monotonous. Sameera Singh,a senior compere says,I do a lot of homework before the assignment as it helps me navigate through while the event is on. I speak with all the people who are going to perform. And one has to understand the importance of switching roles from time to time; one cannot take the same approach at corporate functions as one does at Sangeet ceremony,so the reinvention happens by itself.
However no matter how good one prepares there are times when hitches occur during the event and it tests the skills and temperament of the compere to tackle them . Interacting with the audience is the best way to go about these kinds of situations. Even when things are going fine I consciously try to involve people into the act. And above all I believe that its important to be yourself, says Nico Francis,a city based compere. Of the same opinion is Bhavikk Shah who says,I interact with them,I make them dance,sing I ask my clients to give away prizes and gifts to people and that way I easily get hold of the audience,and the crux of the matter is you need to enjoy what you are doing. If you do no situation will be difficult for you to tackle.
