Master of Ceremonies - Experience Sharing

Salam sejahtera...cewah tetiba begitu skema, bukan apa nak inline with the topic je.

Erm segan sebenarnya nak buat entry ni but since ramai yg bertanya and tak kurang juga ada yg pernah minta saya buat training bagi tips and kongsi pengalaman saya sebagai MC, maka saya share la skek2 apa yg sy tau, kalau ada yg berguna harap boleh jadi panduan...mana yg x praktikal tu harap boleh betulkan.

Honestly, i am not a trained MC..semua bermula masa darjah 4 dalam satu pertandingan Pidato antara kelas, masatu without knowing wht is Pidato all about, sy dgn slumber volunteered myself to represent my class, because no other taker maka cikgu bagi jela sy masuk....thx to my auntie who helped me to compose the text "masa itu emas" my 1st ever public speaking debut..

Though sy cuma jadi 1st runner up je tapi pengalaman tu cukup berguna, it tells myself and the rest that this boy can speak and he does it well. Ever since sy dpt byk ruang utk tampil di atas pentas bagi pelbagai acara...sy suka!

Alhamdulillah as of tonite saya dah hosting almost all types of function...ranging from formal to casual occasion, to name a few; corporate dinner, luncheon, wedding, talent show, party and even religious program heeee....my audiences vary from hi rank Gov officers such as cabinet minister, top management of companies such as President and CEOs down to the mass.

So many asked what are my secrets to be quite a good emcee considering my armature status, perasan skek la kan..tp it is common when people associating me with Pak Nil (i am honoured), my friend in Bandung call me Najib Ali (mujur bukan Azwan Ali) Okla tonite i admit that these two host have influenced me the most, i grew up by watching Asia Bagus and Pop Kuiz so what to do??

eh eh melalut plak, mana tips nye kan? sorry...

Basically to me, emcee is just not about stand in front and read the script. You are master of ceremonies and thus you should know the event flow and have control over it. Hence, most of the time, i prepared the script on my own based on agenda given by the organizer. That way, i can really control the program flow.

Say that u have no expertise to write the script, its ok...but pls to ensure that the floor manager is a fren of yours :)

Next, pls to rehearse...no matter how expert or how experience we are. People may think that i casually walk into the hall, grab the mic and start talking...because in many occasion, i dun even bring my script. Hell no! i did rehearsing my line dayssss before the program, i do it by talking in front mirror...

Generally, everybody will get butterfly struck...no doubt. Me myself will for sure shaking in the 1st 3 seconds....so saya amal doa yg semua org tahu...doa Nabi Musa. So far it works, alhamdulillah.

Masa in action tu, pls be flexible... i mean play be ears la, biggest mistake is emcee selalu bermonologue. Yes u have the script but you are talking to people so eye contact kena jaga, body language, gesture, ur voice tone, pitch and diction...in short, jgn syok sendiri :)

Act appropriately to the response of your audience...faham kadang2 acara formal memang a bit dry, tapi jangan make it worst by reading the script trough out the program...how? thts where knowledge plays a role. We must know the subject matters, enrich self with current info/news/fact etc so we can simply ad lib with eye wakening trivia depending on the mood...

ok, a bit when u have a partner (co host)...pls ensure you and your partner supporting each other. Jgn dua2 nak menonjol diri, sorang feeder sorang libas...gilir2 la. A good emcee will always makes his/her partner seems and sounds great.

Lastly, how we present ourselves lah, true kadang2 program kecik je, tp igt people are still looking and creating an image in their black box (marketing term), and normally it will lasting almost forever. So my advise, pakai la kemas2 and molek2...ada masa perlu tonjolkan karisma sebab kdg2 program tu 2 jam, sakit mata org tgk emcee ghupa macam x siap je. Cantik, kacak semua tu bonus and x penting...i mean presentable...sebab tu sy x setuju people call me metroseksual, i am not, in normal life sy pakai shirt, track bottom n sandal je...no metroseksual guy would wear that. I just dress accordingly to the occasion because i respect the organizer and the program regardless of it capacity.

sini dulu, utk general tips on MC...ada masa and jika ada keperluan saya share lebih specifik ikut jenis acara...maybe some sample of the script might helps too.

Maaf kalo ada yg rasa sy perasan ke apa...n these tips maybe only practical to me so pls take your risk hehe...

Ziana Zain in me

salamZZ all...

Disclaimer: all are welcome to call me POYOs for this entry as i will become poyo sepoyo poyo nye..

i genuinely thought tht i can pretend cool n behave like i am not affected at all, but seriously i just can't get it out of my head! i keep thinking what am i doing here at home in Kerteh?? shouldn't i suppose to be in Esplanade tonite?? witnessing the greatest vocal performance of the nite by my lovely sister...Ziana Zain (the one and only)

since the last 15 years, i have no other favorite female local singer but her. It was all started during Juara Lagu 1996 where she eventually lost to the star in the making on tht time...Dato' Siti Nurhaliza. With due respect to Dato', i just feel that, Kak Ziana deserved to win the title. However, old story, case closed.

then i began collecting all of her albums...(pirate) because as a student with minor scholarship from JPA, certainly i can't afford to buy original version hehe...not to mention all magazines that featured her as cover story or pin up...proud enuf, i still have it in my collection until now....hundreds of them ! lucky me, my mom never object bcoz i had never ask her money :)

later in campus, the scholarship amount is "bigger"....so i bought all of her albums from Madah Berhelah to Aku Cintakanmu...no regret. Again, not to count her compilation album, concert album and other special project of her. that time also, i started knowing Zianafolks tru online forum, hmm i can spend hours in computer lab, online...debating and protecting her in online forum. Obviously i was so immature that time, gaduh just bcoz of her heeeee

one crazy little thing i did tht time, i took train from JB to KL sentral at night and arrived at KL in the morning, i stayed/hang out at KL sentral waiting for her showcase at the afternoon...after the showcase, i took my train went back to JB and i safely arrived JB next morning, went straight to campus for my exam...cool :) after all, i can't focus on my study should i chose not to go...for sure i can't perform in my exam when i cannot study. Note tht, i scored A still...study in train la.

back to the showcase, wow unforgettable moment of my life. After more than a decade admiring her from far, finally i had a chance to see her before my eyes...in blue dress, she looked gorgeous beyond word...unfortunately, we have no facebook that time, let alone camera phone...in fact i don't even have hand phone hahaha...still the memory glued strongly in my mind...

6 years later in 2008, i experienced second encounter with her. It was during AJL 23 semi final in which she contending her single entitle Dingin. She lost that nite but i don't care...zianafolks love her regardless of wht ever result, we so proud of her superb performance and to us, she is the ultimate winner. Miracle does happen, especially when it involves super diva like her...she went to final despite her lost.

I cried in the middle of Jakarta Metropolice during the nite of AJL 23...not bcoz she didn't win but bcoz i am not in stadium watching her perform live...

and tonite, instead of writing this piece of frustration...i should sing along in esplanade or just simply listening to her powerful voice....

Syawal Diary

Happy Malaysia Day & Merdeka!

hmm back in office, i wrote Ramadan Diary for company web news. Here i extend the title in my personal blog to share my experience during this year Syawal. I choose to write in english language because it may avoiding me from being too melancholic as this Syawal was the most special Syawal in my life thus far.

This year raya theme for my family was purple! lucky for me bcoz i've baju melayu in so many colors in my closet, so i didn't have to buy a new one. Nevertheless, hehe i was still sourcing for it at Jalan Masjid India, Sogo, Jalan TAR up to Pasar Seni...but i found nothing that fit my tiny body or either my hugeeee taste :)

cookies...as usual, i ordered the same cookies from the same bakery since the last 5 years..n thiz yr i end up once again as the biggest spender without knowing. I bought almost every type of cookies offered on my table, not counting cakes, kerepek n other so called side dish eeee....

main menu on our table thiz yr....turkey! seriously Turkey...rendang to' turkey which was delicately prepared by my auntie. My mom cooked sambal kacang, daging masak merah and ofcoz ketupat. Me and nenek, jointly crafting ketupat daun kelapa for ourselves satisfaction (bcoz no one cares) xpela nek...

second day, i sicked of ketupat already so my mom cooked asam laksa and fried beehon..3rd day, i craving for nasi! nasi nasi nasi....with sardine je sob3 poor me.

Alhamdulillah, many came visiting our home thiz yr...relatives and friends, neighbor not really bcoz they too went back to their Kg rite?? i certain tht thiz yr was many than previous yr bcoz i ran out of my angpau allocation unlike before.

Due to that, i only have limited time to go out, only at night after isya'...where no more people come to our house...yet it was wonderful! i never thought tht i would had a chance to meet my old play mate from primary school..really enjoyed tht night where we gathered like those days under the surau at sek agama haha...i am grateful seeing that all of us have grown up and on our own way to be somebody insha allah...

Okay, i mentioned earlier tht thiz is the most special Syawal in my life thus far. Reason being, i got engage!! yes i am excited...thrilled perhaps! beyond words, i m on the moon till now heeee....i've "the ring" and she has it too. Nothing much to story about the ceremony, alhamdulillah it went well and smooth...minus some tiredness, tension etc...in total i am blessed!

Thus thanks a lot to my mom and the rest of my family members for being there for me and more. Countless thx to my twin friend, u know who u are...i think he was nervous more than me, he called me almost every single day prior to the ceremony just to ensure i've prepare everything properly. To Che Nor, hope you are reading this hehe...thx for the lovely deco and chocolate, i dunno how can i pay you back but certainly my pray is for you and your family. Dun forget ek, more deco deco deco...

To my in laws, thanks too for hosting such a meaningful ceremony, i appreciate every single tiny things u had done for our ceremony, especially after i'd watched "Father of the bride"

To my fiancee, enough talking la...i dun have to thx u here (malu) heeeee

now, more works need to be done for the day...i think 80% completed...i think :)

Begging for everyone to wish us the best and may our happiness last longer than our life...ameen