Training a Master of Ceremonies

[Chippewa29]

My troop had our quarterly COH last Monday. It went ok, but I noticed that our SPL/ASPL (who act as the MC for the COH) could have done things much better. I'm not talking about being able to handle the Oscars as well as Billy Crystal, but I noticed several things they should have probably done to make things run smoother. I realized afterward that I had never really taught any of the Scouts how to be an effective MC. I further realized that I don't really know how to train them for that.

 

Does anyone have any ideas or preferrably links I could go to in order to find a list of things an MC needs to make sure of for running a successful COH?

[Lisabob]

One place you might want to encourage the boys to look is the communications MB book. Planning and MC'ing a court of honor is one of the options for requirement #8. I don't have the book handy but I am pretty sure there's a section in there on how to schedule, plan, and run such an event. Now if only I could convince our Advancement chair that the boys ought to be doing this! (a thread for another day)

 

Lisa'bob

[fgoodwin]

Requirement No. 8 for the Communications Merit Badge:Plan a troop court of honor or campfire program. Have the patrol leaders' council approve it, then write the script and prepare the program. Serve as master of ceremonies.

 

http://www.meritbadge.com/mb/005.htmSo, a boy must plan a troop COH or campfire, get approval from the PLC, write a script then MC the COH or campfire.

 

Of course, this is only required if a boy is working toward Eagle -- if a boy has no plans to earn the Eagle rank, he could very well go his entire Scouting career never having MC'd an event like a COH.

 

Now, I've been to many troop COHs in which boys are awarded their Communications MB. I've never seen any of them MC a COH or campfire. Invariably, the COH is run by the SPL and SM / ASMs, while the campfires are run by the SPL and older Scouts.

 

So, have the boys in our troop actually MC'd a campfire or COH in in order to qualify for their MB? All I can say is, they apparently convinced their MBC that they had done so.

[Lisabob]

Not to get side-tracked, but do note that the requirement says a Court of Honor OR a campfire. I've noticed too that most boys choose the campfire option and would like to see more of them work on the CoH instead (maybe the CoH's would be less boring if the boys were involved in running them...). But they do have the choice. At any rate, there is info in the MB book on how to plan and run each of these.

 

Lisa'bob

[OldGreyEagle]

I might be showing my age, well heck why not? Anyway, depending on the area you are in try researching the local "Toastmaster" Club. They have specific programs on teaching youth public speaking

 

http://www.toastmasters.org/

[Gonzo1]

Also, Communications MB and Public Speaking MB have SPEAKING requirements which should suffice the Master of Ceremonies part of what you're looking for. Toastmasters is also a great place for the ins and outs of public speaking.

 

Lastly, practice, practice, practice. Have him practice in front of the PLC, then he'll feel more comfortable.