Timeline of Trivia Hosting
Timeline of a Hosting Shift
Trivia Mafia employees are paid for 2.8 hours of work; however, most hosts are actually working a slightly shorter shift.
A Trivia Mafia game should run at least 1.5 hours, but no longer than 2 hours. Too long, the players will get antsy. Too short, the customer site is losing patrons. An hour and forty-five minutes from reading rules to announcing winners is just right! But we recognize that individual sites will have different vibes and expectations, so hosts have some flexibility within that window.
We ask hosts to arrive onsite about 20-30 minutes before the game begins. That means you have parked and are walking in the door with everything you need at that time!
Phases of the Event
Every single trivia event has the following phases:
- Pre-Game
- First Half
- Intermission
- Second Half
- Post-Game
Within every phase, there is room to adapt to the particular location at which one is hosting - is the sound set-up just getting a mic from the bartender and turning it on? Maybe you can arrive closer to start time. Are there five teams or twenty five teams? Table touches look a little different depending on the crowd. Are you good at banter or do you cling to a script? There's space for both approaches within this framework.
Key Actions
We'll have detailed instructions and explanations in the subsequent sections, but these are the basic non-negotiables to keep in mind:
- Running sound - the people need to hear you! You should always have a working microphone.
- Recruiting players - prepare to interrupt conversations, talk to strangers, and efficiently explain (and sell) the game.
- Reading rules - there aren't many, but you gotta say 'em (and enforce them).
- Reading questions - hopefully you're not surprised by this one.
- Correcting answers - goes hand-in-hand with that previous one, honestly.
- Announcing winners - people really love to be acknowledged!
- Thanking site staff - again, people really love (and deserve) to be acknowledged!!
- Submitting Host Feedback - it verifies you worked the shift, and preserves your valuable insights and data.
Nuances
Make sure to read each question twice. After the first time through, say something like, “That question again,” and read it again. Reveal the question in the app before you read it the second time. End each question by saying, “That is question X of round Y.”
Memorize the Three Speeches. You need a How to Play speech, a Welcome + Rules speech, and a Mega Round speech. There are other bits of patter and presentation that you'll likely start to say by rote, but these are the most important.
If you've got questions about the questions, reply-all to the Question email thread, or drop a note in the #content channel on Slack. If you need other support, reach out to the On-Call, AV Expert, or Host Manager.
Most Importantly
Fill out the Host Feedback!! Every time!! You're not done until you do this.
Go to: hosts.triviamafia.com
Click "Regular Night"
Password: FeedMe
The link is also included in every Question email. Best practice is to fill it out before you head out, but definitely within 24 hours of your event. Whatever works for your routine, do it and stick to it.
Host Feedback is where you upload team photos, let us know how many teams played, share the scores, and write any other notes you have about the event.
Do not forget or neglect your Host Feedback duty! It is required, and will affect your job prospects if you habitually forget.
Host Feedback is recapped and reviewed every week on Tuesdays by the Admin Staff (all of Editorial, Sales, Host Manager, Marketing, Systems + Chuck and Brenna).
If you need to share something personal or sensitive that you'd rather not have read by a dozen people, after you complete the feedback with the basics, just email or message the Host Manager.
Next: Pre-Game
No Comments