The MC sets the tone for the entire night. Get the briefing right and the awards flow naturally, the room stays warm, and the awkward silences stay short. Get it wrong and even a confident, experienced MC will stumble, because they're working without the information they need. A strong MC briefing isn't complicated, but it does require time and deliberate thought before the evening starts.
Start the briefing well before the event
Ideally, your MC receives a full briefing pack at least 48 hours before the night. That gives them time to read through it, ask questions, and practise name pronunciations without you standing over them five minutes before the first award is called. A rushed briefing produces a rushed performance.
The briefing pack should contain, at minimum: a finalised run sheet, the full awards list in order, winner names (if known), presenter names, and any scripted segments like opening remarks or sponsor acknowledgements. If your MC is presenting blind (winners announced live), tell them that clearly and give them context on how the selection process worked, so they can speak to it if asked.
Walk through the run sheet together
A written run sheet is essential, but it's not a substitute for a face-to-face or phone walkthrough. Sit with your MC, go line by line, and flag anything that needs special handling. If you're still working on how to write a run sheet for a presentation night, that's the first thing to sort out before the MC briefing can happen.
During the walkthrough, point out where transitions happen, which segments run long, and where the MC should keep things moving versus hold space for the room to breathe. A comedy awards segment needs a different energy than a lifetime achievement presentation. The MC can only calibrate that if you tell them.
Name pronunciation: don't leave it to chance
Mispronouncing a winner's name in front of their family and teammates is one of the most deflating moments at any awards night. It's also entirely preventable. Provide your MC with a phonetic pronunciation guide for every name on the awards list. For names you're unsure about yourself, call the recipient in advance. A two-minute phone call saves an awkward moment that the winner will remember for years.
This matters especially for junior and school events, where parents are in the room. It also matters in sporting clubs with diverse memberships, where names from multiple cultural backgrounds appear on the same list. Take it seriously.
Brief them on the award categories and their weight
Not all awards carry the same significance, and a good MC adjusts their delivery accordingly. The best and fairest is different from the most improved. The club champion is different from the under-12 encouragement award. Your MC needs to know which categories carry the most weight in your club or organisation, so they can give those moments the right build-up.
If you've invested thought into how to choose award categories that people actually care about, share that thinking with the MC. Tell them which awards were close calls, which categories are new this year, and which ones are likely to get the biggest reaction from the room. That context shapes how they introduce each segment.
Plan for the unexpected
Ties happen. Winners don't show. A presenter forgets their notes. Your MC needs to know in advance how you want each of these handled, not improvise on the night.
Prepare a short list of contingency instructions: what to say if a winner isn't present, how to handle a tie (do you award both or hold a revote?), and who to look to if something goes wrong mid-ceremony. Designate one person as the MC's on-the-night contact. That person stays near the front and can pass information quickly if the situation changes.
You can prepare for the most common disruptions in advance. Cover award ties and disputes during your briefing, not after they occur.
Set expectations around tone and humour
A common mistake is assuming the MC knows your audience. They don't, unless you tell them. A cricket club's end-of-season night has a different culture to a corporate awards dinner or a school athletics presentation. What lands at one event falls flat or causes offence at another.
Give the MC three to five sentences about your audience: their age range, the relationship between attendees (colleagues, families, teammates), the general vibe you're after, and any topics to steer clear of. If there's been a difficult season, a member who passed away, or a controversy the club is moving past, your MC needs to know. A joke that touches a raw nerve is far harder to recover from than a slow patch in the schedule.
Confirm the technical setup
The MC should know the stage layout, microphone type, and where to stand before the doors open. If they're using a handheld mic, they can't shuffle papers at the same time, so your briefing pack needs to be formatted for easy reading at a glance. If there's a lectern and a fixed mic, page layout matters less.
Walk the MC through the venue before guests arrive. Show them where the awards table is, where the presenters will be seated, and which direction winners should walk. A MC who knows the physical space moves through it confidently. One who doesn't will hesitate, and the room picks that up immediately.
Give them an out on the night
Even with a thorough briefing, things will change on the night. A sponsor runs late. An award gets added. A presenter swaps out. Your MC needs to feel empowered to adapt without losing their composure, and that starts with knowing they have a contact they can turn to.
End every MC briefing with a clear statement: here's who you call if something changes, here's where they'll be standing, and here's what matters most if the schedule slips. Keep the conclusion simple. A well-briefed MC doesn't need a crisis plan. They just need to know the room is set up for them to succeed. Westlakes Trophies supplies trophies, medals and plaques for presentation nights across Australia, and the team is happy to advise on award formatting, engraving turnaround, and ordering timelines that fit your event schedule.