Episode 32: Ten Rules for Running an Awards Dinner

Stever Robbins, host of the Get-it-Done Guy podcast, shares his insights on running an effective awards dinner.

• The Get-it-Done Guy podcast episode Award to the Wise at the Get-it-Done Guy website.
• Download the suitable-for-framing Ten Rules for Running an Awards Dinner in PDF format.

These rules are written from the point of view of your audience member, who you presumably would like to stay, happily, until the end of the evening.

1. Let them eat first! People are hungry.
2. Keep it short—they’re digesting… they ate before you started talking.
3. Hold the applause. No one wants to clap for 400 people. And by “400,” I mean “3 or more.”
4. Be relevant. Acceptance speeches are boring unless they’re gossip or relevant.
5. Test your stories. Decades-old funny stories … aren’t.
6. Don’t give us organizational history unless we care.
7. Be specific. Don’t just say someone’s “a great person.”
8. Thank people directly and let the audience watch (if you must thank them individually at all).
9. Don’t cry on stage. We’re not your therapist.
10. Be authentic! People will like you better.
11. (Bonus rule!) If all else fails, pay them to pay attention.