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[skythefairae]

I'm not entirely sure if this is the right forum for this, but here I go, anyway.

So, at an upcoming con, I'll be hosting not one, but two different gatherings. I'm honestly a little nervous about it. I'm afraid that I'll either not be loud enough, or some other horrible thing will happen. I know I'm probably over-thinking things, and that I should probably invest in a megaphone, but still. Does anybody have advice on the subject? Any tips for anyone who's hosting a gathering for the first time?

[glassbutterfly]

I've never hosted a gathering, but I think it helps to have a megaphone (depending on how big the turnout is) but it's not entirely necessary. It definitely helps to have a co-host though for organization of the shoots. I would say just have lots of energy and be enthusiastic. Think up fun ideas for the shoots. If you're naturally shy, don't be too nervous and have fun!

[MochaValentino]

Ah, it really isn't as hard as people make it out to be. The most important things to remember are: be friendly, be loud, have a sense of humor, have a plan.

Make sure your time and place are solid. Show up early, and make sure your attendees know which costume you'll be wearing (I also brought cookies to mine as an extra, that way they knew it was me).

Just introduce yourself as people show up, and have fun. Make sure you have a list of which groupings will be going up. The more organized and easygoing you are, the more smoothly it will run.

You don't need a megaphone. Even with a large gathering, megaphones are just obnoxious. Learn to project, and even if you can't, I'm sure someone louder will help you out.

And it helps to have a friend run it with you, because you feel more confident. My co-host for the Katsucon Kuro shoots was the voice, and I was the brains.

[LeekFish]

Oh, don't worry; hosting a gathering is super fun and pretty simple! I agree with everything what's been said so far, but as for the megaphone subject, it really depends on the gathering size. I hosted the Vocaloid gathering at Fanime last year and we had over 100 cosplayers; the gatherings department let me borrow a megaphone so I wouldn't strain my voice so much, and it definitely helped. But for the small Shugo Chara! gathering I attended, there were only a handful of us so we didn't need to really shout.

I would definitely advise that you have a helper or two though, since when you go up for photos, you'll need to hand off the megaphone (if you use one) and it helps in regards to crowd control and the like. I know this year I'll definitely have a couple of helpers, both because it's going to be mandatory for a gathering of that size and because it's really helpful. xD;