Class Act 5 Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring Entertainment

If booking the balloon-tying clown for your kid’s 6th birthday party was the last time you hired an act for an event, you might appreciate a little expert advice on getting it right for your corporate event. Whether your company gathering is live, virtual or hybrid, you want someone who knows that audience interaction encompasses more than knock-knock jokes.

1. Who is your demographic or primary audience?

You will want to know this upfront to determine the best act to suit your group. And you will want to share with the prospective entertainer what type of event you are hosting and audience, e.g., corporate shareholders or the hourly workers? Is the gathering corporate and formal or relaxed and casual? How many in the audience? What’s the venue? What’s the budget? What are they looking for? In other words, do they have something specific already in mind? Sharing this information as you are qualifying your entertainer is essentional for event sucess.

2. Where can I view or experience a demo of your act?

Request a recorded demo or opportunity to view a live event to get a good demonstration of the talent’s act. This way you know what exactly to expect from the entertainer without any surprises. Many offer a video demo on their websites, if outdated, ask them if they have a more recent video. Ask for referrals at this time as well and a bio.

3. For holiday gatherings, what’s the optimal time frame for booking talent?

Ask the performer how far out you need to book to ensure them during prime dates, particularly weekend evenings. Is a few months out enough, or longer?

4. Do you offer assurance that the act will be clean?

After all, your boss nor employees or worse yet customers will be very amused if the entertainer or entertainment is not going to be perfectly clean. This will ensure that there’s no reason to worry that anyone in your audience will be offended. It’s important that there be no profanity and nothing suggestive or questionable. You want to ensure that the talent understands the audience and exactly who they’ll be entertaining. Plus, many of the entertainers tailor their acts to the specific company or industry to which they’re providing the entertainment as well..

5. Have you performed in the venue I have booked? Are there any limitations?

The planner should make sure they know what they’re getting. Is this entertainer going to be right for this crowd? How long does the act last? Does the act work well in the venue space; a theater, for example? Will the act work well as an after-dinner show? In order to ensure success its your job to make sure you get the best talent that fits those needs.

Casey Romano, Publisher | meetingpages | casey@meetingpages.com

Creator of digital platform meetingpages complete event planning directory and resource delivering leads and national, regional and local exposure for event venues, suppliers and destinations in MN, WI, IA & CO markets. In her free time, this 19 year industry veteran enjoys dance, group fitness, and training her young golden retriever dog in competition obedience and confirmation.