John Hegley had an interesting style of compering yesterday at National Poetry Day Live at the Southbank. While fellow compere Joelle Taylor was intent on generating the feelgood factor, he seemed keener on doing the opposite. Here are a selection of his Clore Ballroom quotes:

"Poetry can be fun. But not today, unfortunately."

"Don't applaud until you've got a consensus."

"It may be free, but you still have to pay attention."

I'm sure it's all part of his downbeat stage persona. But does anyone else have any views on the secret of good compering? Or any good stories to tell? (The Write Out Loud lawyer adds: Keep 'em non-libellous)

Go compere!

LOL - I wish I'd been there Greg - I think I'd have liked John Hegley compering - in fact, I might even have done a bit of heckling, just to liven things up for him.

Compering is a tough job. You have to be really on the ball, listening to all the poetry so you can comment, au fait with the background to all the poets you have to announce. As the night progresses it gets harder to do that because you've had a drink, but oddly enough easier to compere, because you don't give a fig...

For me a good compere has to do enough, without doing too much. Doing enough involves setting the tone for a good friendly atmosphere.

I don't like to criticise other comperes too much because at the end of the day none of us get paid in these free venues.

Lancaster Spotlight is far enough away from me to have a poke at though :) I went there once and found that the compere was virtually doing his own comedy spot every time he got on stage. It was particularly irksome because I'd travelled a long way to be told I couldn't perform - there wasn't enough time for the number of people there... That's what I'd call doing too much. Be a compere, or be a performer - don't try to be both, repeatedly...

i've been to a few too also who don't know when to shut up and it takes over the show defo.

i've done a bit of mcing myself. wouldn't do it too often as my nerves can't handle it, which is fun considering some of the gigs i've done with my two bands over the years where we've had a few firey crowds, but mcing.. yeah, it's a hard one

Make people feel comfortable and let them get on with it! But be prepared to step in is somebody goes on and on and on or a riot is immanent! I gues you have to have a running order that works which means knowing who is likely to do what. But of course with open mics you just don't know.
I tried comparing for a bit - hated it!

I think I've seen most of them, the cringeworthy,the milk curdling, the toe curling, the pissed, the unprepared, the improvised, the over-inflated, the give me something I can put my foot into, the spare, the under-stated. Anne's comments are spot on. The standard setters were Liverpool's DGPS. You couldn't compere there unless you did the one-day course. WoL produced a ten points of good compering back in its early days. Alas no-one seems to think it's that important these days. Isaobel's point is well made. No-one's getting paid. Best example of under-stated unfussy but considered compering I've seen recently was Louise Coulson at the Neo-writers Live a couple of months ago. Brings the best out of the performers.

Yes, I can imagine Dave. Louise has long been a compere at the Tudor and I can remember particularly enjoying one you compered together a few years back. You'll have to do it again in the New Year - I think the chemistry of certain people really works on stage. I've found that with Joy France when we share the job - we just seem to meld well together.

We've got a crop of new comperes coming up for the next few months. The great Ian Whiteley with an 'e' last month. The hilarious Dave Carr in November and the lovely Dominic Simpson at Christmas. Also threatening to grace our stage in the New Year, Sharon/Shazstar, another well liked Wigan poet bursting with enthusiasm, whose trademark for me is the tablet she carries round with her everywhere :)

The Tudor is a great place to start compering because it has such a warm audience that is really behind you. You can't possibly get it wrong when everyone is there willing you to succeed and looking for a good time. There's sometimes a bit of heckling - but only in the right places and for the right reasons :)