5 Ways to Spice up Your Awards Night
Awards ceremonies are often some of the most important and exciting dates in the calendar for many companies and industries. Taking the time to congratulate individuals or groups of people for their tremendous hard work and astounding achievements over the year is so important for keeping enthusiasm and work ethic high, and awards nights offer the perfect opportunity to do this. As such, it is important to make sure to avoid subjecting an audience to monotonous certificate hand-outs and mindless applause for an entire evening. Instead, ensure that your awards ceremony is fun, upbeat and well worthy of remembering.
Follow our 5 simple tips below to spice up your awards night and leave your audience begging for more!
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Hire a comedy host
Selecting and booking a host for your awards ceremony is one of the most important parts of planning your event. This person is essentially the face of your entire evening, so you need to make sure you’ve got the perfect fit!
Hiring a comedian to host your awards ceremony is the perfect way to liven up what could otherwise be quite a formal affair. Particularly for corporate events, booking a comedy host can facilitate a relaxed, naturally amusing atmosphere, with jokes interspersed between the presenting of awards.
We have a huge number of comedy awards hosts on our roster who are highly experienced in hosting corporate gigs. Take Jo Brand and Lennie Henry, for example. Both are hilarious household names that are guaranteed to spice up any awards ceremony with ease!
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Hire a host with a unique skillset to showcase
Another option which can help spice up your awards ceremony could be to select a host with a different, perhaps slightly more unusual skillset to showcase.
From musicians to magicians, someone who can double up as not only your event host, but an entertainer too is a fantastic way to make your awards ceremony that little bit different.
Wynne Evans, for example, is one of our most popular awards presenters and event hosts. Most famous on television for being Mr Go Compare, Wynne is one of the UK’s leading tenors. He has performed as a principal with all of the major opera houses and orchestras, including Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Welsh National Opera and English National Opera. As well as being one of the most natural, charming event hosts, Wynne can spice up your evening by singing too!
Jon Courtenay is another terrific choice if you’re looking for someone totally unique and bespoke. Jon rose to fame on Britain’s Got Talent and became the first golden buzzer act to win the show. Jon performs original comedy songs and will even write a bespoke comedy song for a corporate company or industry if booked out to perform!
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Hire an after-dinner speaker
Awards ceremonies can be a great place to showcase unique speakers, particularly those who have a powerful message or story to tell which is relevant to your awards ceremony theme or industry.
The Speakers Agency has a vast selection of after-dinner speakers available who have backgrounds in all varieties of sectors. Ed Balls is a great choice if you’d like a high-profile name. He is renowned for expertly balancing hilarious comedy with more serious issues. Kevin Pietersen too is a perfect choice for someone who is hugely entertaining and can dazzle audiences with stories about his life and incredible career.
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Hire a comedian to perform a stand-up set
Instead of opting for a comedy host, you could hire a separate awards host, but book a comedian to perform a stand-up set during your night to break up the agenda. We have a huge array of comedians you can book for corporate events, ranging from established, high-profile comedians to up-and-coming talent that are the future faces of Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo. Al Murray has been listed as one of the top 50 funniest acts in Britain according to The Observer, and is a foolproof choice for any audience. Similarly, Ellie Taylor is a highly recognisable stand-up comedian whose style is often described as agile and commanding, perfect for a corporate awards night.
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Engage your audience creatively
Awards ceremonies can be events that take place over the course of an entire evening, which means you need to consider creative ways to retain your audience’s attention throughout the night. Interactive features can be useful for this, allowing your audience, even those who haven’t been nominated for awards, to play an active part in the evening.
Consider allowing audiences to vote in polls, or offer a ‘People’s Choice Award,’ for example. This way, even if you’d prefer to leave most of the scoring to your judges, your audience can still get involved with voting for the people’s choice award. You could enable digital entries prior to the event or offer paper ballots at the event itself!
