I’m excited about emcee’ing an upcoming squash tournament here in New York City. The Open Squash Classic opens in 18 days’ time with $55,000 in prize money for the men’s and women’s draws. There are still a few tickets available for the opening rounds if you want to get in on the action.
I’ll be emcee’ing over the course of all five days, introducing the players, and watching a lot of the games. I’ll also be interviewing the winners on the glass court after each game. The event itself will be broadcast around the world on Squash.tv with live commentary. So: It’s a lot of pressure, and I’ve been preparing hard.
What an opportunity, though. I’m so lucky Open Squash has commissioned me in this role. There’s a host of talented squash emcees around the world. Andy Taylor is a bearded guy with a Hollywood voice. He works the Qatari squash events and the U.S. Open tennis tournament. He’s interviewed Serena Williams on court in Queens! Then there’s a guy called Bill Buckingham. He emcees the Chicago Open. He sounds like he’s opening a baseball game, revving the crowd up with his vocal theatrics. There’s also a British guy called Michael Absalom, who does a lot of the major tournaments. He’s an actor and former England hockey player with a charming delivery. He used to work for the BBC.
I, meanwhile, have a South London accent and have never even met Serena Williams. Let alone interviewed her. So; All these guys intimidate me.
Not to worry. Being nervous about public speaking is part of delivering a great performance. I’ve done a lot of it over the years from broadcast to emcee’ing, and the key thing I learned was to prepare hard. So, I’m preparing hard. My goal is to be as well prepared as Kamala Harris was for her debate against Donald Trump. I’m out to slay. That’s the goal. No half-heartedness.
It starts with researching all the players in considerable depth. I know a lot about the “Colombian cannonball,” Miguel Rodriguez, for example. He won the British Open and has an incredible instagram that I follow (not to mention a nice Porsche). But I know less about Yahya ElNawasany. And I want to be up-to-speed about him, and able to pronounce his name without effort, before I introduce him on court. In the women’s draw, I recently scored a match featuring Sin Yuk “Simmi” Chan. But I don’t know as much about Tsz-Wing Tong, her first-round opponent. Again, it’s important to me to get her name right!
Those are the basics. Learn all about 48 top squash players. I’d say this would be a chore, but if you know me, you’ll know: Squash is a deep passion of mine. This gig is like going to squash university on a scholarship. I can’t wait to dig into their instagrams and Youtubes to find out all about them. I’ve realized it’s important to me to follow my passions in my career, and squash, after my family, is right up there. So I’m throwing myself into this with faith and optimism. Once I have the players’ details down, it’s also important to forget them, a bit, so that I can be natural. I’m also practicing my intros and interviews. It’s important to get feedback. I’ve asked my wife to be brutal.
As emcee, it’s my role to give the crowd a focus, and to draw their attention and excitement into the match. I need to hold their attention and be engaging. A bit of humor helps. A bit of humility helps. But also, there’s a sense of occasion. You need to dress right, and as far as my research goes, that means wearing a suit. It also means wearing proper leather shoes. The number of emcees who try to half-ass this gig by wearing sneakers with a suit depresses me. But I will not make such a mistake.
Have you got any other tips for emcee’ing or compere’ing, as we say in England? I’m all ears! Thanks for reading, as always. Please share this newsletter with anybody you feel might appreciate it.
Matt
P.S. My friend Russ interviewed me for his jobs column at The Washington Post this week. We talked about networking (when you hate networking). I hope you enjoy the piece!
—Matt Davis is a communications consultant and writer for a wide variety of clients. He also teaches yoga and lives with his wife and son in New York.
