Hosting an awards show? This one’s for you

Awards show season is upon us again. Whether you’ve committed to watching all 10 films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar or you’re just here to see the red carpet outfits and teary speeches, we can all agree that one person has the power to make or break a great awards show — the host.

When it comes to televised award shows, we’ve had some great hosts… and some less impressive ones. Fresh off the Golden Globes and with the Oscars coming in hot, we’re sharing our best advice for the person of the hour. 

Mr. Kimmel. Jimmy. Can we call you Jimmy? It’s your time to shine. In just a few short days, you’ll step onto the Dolby Theatre stage. Directors, actors, actresses, costume designers, composers and everyone else who brought the nominated films to life will fill the room, and you have one job: to not screw it up.

Look at Trevor Noah, who hosted the 2024 Grammy Awards. He also hosted the 2021, 2022 and 2023 awards, which says something about his hosting abilities. Noah was a ball of energy radiating positivity and excitement and brought polite humor into an event some consider tedious. 

On the other hand, there’s Jo Koy. He had his first, and possibly last, chance of hosting the Golden Globes on Jan. 7. His jokes weren’t funny, he took the money and as Taylor Swift would say, “you’re on your own, kid.” Social media quickly labeled Koy’s jokes distasteful, and the comedian spent most of his time ad-libbing, which seemed to make the A-listers uncomfortable.

You’re not beloved host Trevor Noah or internet meme Jo Koy, Jimmy. You have a clean slate to work with. Take our advice, and you’ll be okay. We believe in you.

Use Tasteful Comedy

“The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? At the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift,” joked Jo Koy in one viral moment. Whoever was on camera duty that day deserved a raise because, right on cue, the cameras cut to Taylor Swift — who did not look happy. 

His controversial jokes left Koy drowning in hate on the internet and having to defend himself from angry Swifties left and right. And to think this all could have been avoided with some tasteful jokes.

"Taylor Swift is here and I know she likes exchanging bracelets, so who is going to give me their Van Cleef in exchange for this beaded one?" Now, that’s how we would joke about Dr. Taylor Alison Swift.

It’s 2024, so why are we still dragging others down just for a laugh? Unless you’re looking to give your publicist a heart attack or looking for a crisis to spice up your life, we recommend making jokes that are both funny and respectful.

Do Your Research

We know they can’t all be winners, but if you’re hosting an awards show, you have to know the nominees. Watch the movies and listen to the songs — at least enough to understand the meaning behind them.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about public relations, it’s that research is everything. How can you comment on something if you don’t know anything about it? It’s simple: you can’t. (Unless you want to become a meme.)

Speaking of memes, let’s revisit our favorite awards show meme: Adele Dazeem. Sound familiar? We hope so, but John Travolta probably doesn’t. In 2014, Travolta announced the upcoming performer, Idina Menzel, as Adele Dazeem. How could he do that to the Queen Elsa of Arendelle? He left name pronunciation out of his research. Sure, Travolta wasn’t the host, but he was still left unprepared with a confusing pronunciation job. Do we think Idina will ever let this go? Prepare your announcers better, Jimmy.

Stick to the Script

You get nervous. You start ad-libbing. Your PR team face-palms and the vicious cycle that turns a fun, celebratory night into an awkward, cringey nightmare begins.

This is what media training is for — to navigate sticky situations without saying anything you shouldn’t. Stick to your teleprompter, remember how to politely navigate awkward silence or even picture the audience in their underwear. Whatever will help you keep your cool on stage and not say every thought out loud. We can’t all be as charmingly impromptu as Ayo Edebiri.

The second part of sticking to the script is committing to the bit. You have to mean what you say, and you have to follow through on your jokes, or else it’ll be even more awkward.

Oh, and one more piece of advice: don’t blame your writing team in the middle of your monologue. We’re looking at you, Jo Koy.

Learn From Others

Instead of making social media your enemy, make it your friend. Social media is a great way to share your thoughts, learn something new and stay up-to-date with current trends. As Gen Z members who are on social media all the time — we would know.

If you know you’re up next to host a high-profile awards show, pull out your phone and see how your audience felt about previous hosts. People are quick to post their thoughts across the platforms, and if you play your cards right, you could use these responses to make sure you don’t end up canceled.

If you don’t watch and learn from other’s successes and failures, then social media may become your enemy before you even step off the stage. When people start resharing your offensive comments, awkward slip-ups or technical difficulties, social media can become your worst nightmare. Your PR team should help you avoid this, but this one’s mostly on you.

Announce the Correct Winner

We know this sounds crazy, but you’d be surprised how many times the wrong winner is announced. There are at least two viral moments that we remember. And you were there for one of them, Jimmy.

We all remember when “La La Land” won the Oscar for best picture. Oh wait, that was “Moonlight.” We don’t need another slip-up like this. Make sure you have the right card this time.

Let’s not forget Steve Harvey – you credited him for your mistake, after all. Back in 2015, Harvey crowned the wrong woman Miss Universe. Jaws dropped around the world when Miss Columbia’s crown was revoked and given to Miss Philippines. We want jaws dropping in awe at the Oscars, not in horror.

And who could possibly forget our very own Florida Gator, Jesse Palmer, who gave a rose to the wrong woman on his season of “The Bachelor.” Learn from these mistakes. Announce the correct winner.

Good luck, Jimmy. Alpha PR is rooting for you. But we will be memeing about you if something goes wrong. Did we mention we’re Gen Z?