January 15, 2021
People who just announce. How important are they, and what’s in it for them? A lot, apparently. Let me tell you about this one guy. Then we’ll see.
What About This Guy Who Just Announces?
He’s not a performer or a participant. He just announces. That’s all. But he has elevated it to an art form. That’s worth a lot.
His name? Michael Buffer. I’ll be honest: I didn’t know who he was. (Sorry, Michael Buffer.) But when I found out his name, then heard his voice, I knew exactly who he was.
He just announces and is paid $25,000 to $100,000 for doing it. Sometimes even more. A lot of money. He wears a tuxedo, holds a microphone, and announces.
So he announces, and he actually got a trademark on the phrasing he uses, and receives money as a result of that. He’s a millionaire.
Not only do attendees love the actual performance; they love the announcement.
For years, he has announced wrestling and boxing matches, famous events, to the extreme delight of participants and audience. You’ve probably heard him:
“Let’s get ready to rrrrrumble!”
😃 Sound familiar? (If not, ask a guy. )
Exactly How Does That Work?
Like, really! That a guy can be paid tons of money to announce? I might like to get into that business. The announcing business. I didn’t realize it was so lucrative.
How is it that he developed the mere introduction of a person into a part of the event itself?
I’ve really tried to get to the heart of the matter. I want to see if you agree.
THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS
What did he do that was so effective?
First, he showed a lot of excitement and attention toward the actual participants. He used his voice to build excitement, dressed the part, and was associated with champions. Winners. He said their names and described them with great respect and enthusiasm.
Second, he invited the audience to participate just by his habits and his methods. They couldn’t wait to hear him. People started to recognize him and seek him out. Even though he was just the announcer.
Third, he disappeared as the event began, allowing the stars to take the spotlight.
There may be more, but those are the obvious ones.
What Does He Gain?
Well, a lot of money. And recognition. The easy life, right?
Like a lot of people, I wonder about those who have fame and money. Like…
- If he gets a lot of satisfaction and pleasure from knowing he’s famous.
- Or if the money brings him happiness.
Because being rich and famous seems like it would help with the bills, and we’d have a lot of people wanting to be friends. Except…
Being rich and famous comes with its own set of problems. Definitely something to manage.
Maybe it’s just as well I’ve been spared.
And truly, it’s not hard to find people who would consider us rich. Not something we want to think about, but it’s true.
Being famous may buy friends, but I’m not sure they would be as treasured as the friends I have as a “regular” person.
Even with all that in mind, I admire Mr. Michael Buffer for his success as a businessman.
I am amazed that an announcer can be so important. So successful. And so effective.
How is it that he has been able to capitalize on announcing? You can tell I’m still caught up in this.
What About People Who Just Announce?
What about people who aren’t Michael Buffer. People who are like you and me.
What do we even have to announce? Maybe dinnertime, but that’s about it.
But Michael Buffer was like that, too, right? Before he was an announcer, he was just a guy.
So, I suppose he found the thing people could enjoy, and helped them enjoy it. Right? He could see how exciting it was, even had a personal glimpse into that world.
He found a place for himself: to highlight the fun, and to urge people to enjoy it even more than they intended.
That thing he did, highlighting the greatness of what is to come, and causing people to become more invested, is kind of fascinating. He didn’t invent the event. He pointed to it.
(Does that make him a “middle man”? )
WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO JUST ANNOUNCE? WHAT DOES IT MATTER?
Oh, it matters.
In every industry there’s someone who points to something. You know I’m right. There are middle men between middle men. Pointing is what promotes the industry.
And pointing, that’s the “what” about people who just announce.
It’s going on all the time. Every little thing, designed down to the last detail, to “point” (obviously or subtly) the viewer toward the desired behavior.
Building excitement, pulling back the curtain, spinning that disco ball.
Every advertisement, every logo, every word of copy, even every color, all carefully crafted to earn your interest, trust, and investment.
We’re all doing it on some level, and it’s being being done to us. We know it.
So how do you pick what you trust, or what you point to?
WHICH EVENT IS WORTH THE EXCITEMENT?
When it’s the famous announcer with the microphone and the flashing lights and the collective excitement, you know that someone’s leading you. It’s obvious, and you can decide to go along, or not.
(I’ll be honest — the hot light at Krispy Kreme is a great example of pointing toward a product. )
But sometimes it’s not like that.
What if there aren’t any lights or crowds? What about the people who just announce something important?
Suppose we bypass the frivolous and delicious, and even the loud and outlandish, and take a hard look at important things.
Let’s don’t even stop at the get-rich-quick offers that spark the dream of the easy life.
We’re looking into the distance, trying to find out what the most important thing is.
Here’s an exercise to help you narrow the focus.
Imagine gathering your family together, whether it’s 5 people or 20 or 50, and you’re in the last five minutes of your life. All of you.
It’s up to you to tell them what the very most important things are right now.
The room becomes quiet.
All eyes are on you, and the microphone is in your hand. The time has come for you to point to something.
What is it?
Scared? Me, too. Even if I know what to say. I don’t usually carry important messages.
But about that message: You know what?
When we can define exactly what we will say in that moment, we have the beginning of our own personal life mission.
The Last Five Minutes
In the situation above, the most important thing in our story is that in five minutes, we all pass through that door at the end of our lives. We don’t just stop being. We start something else. As soon as we enter the door, an immediate fork in the path appears.
The ticket you hold determines whether you go left or right.
I want to be sure my crowd has the right ticket.
In fact, I don’t want to wait until we are in the last five minutes to explain that truth. I want to give out those tickets now. Every day. They’re paid for, and there are plenty.
I want to announce. Before the event.
Most of the time we aren’t in the last five minutes. We’re just in a regular five minutes.
Do you sometimes wonder if you’re making it count?
Are we effectively highlighting the greatness of what’s to come, and causing people to become more invested?
In our everyday walk, we usually don’t have the microphone or the formal tuxedo. The crowd isn’t gathered. The lights aren’t flashing.
No disco ball. No hot light.
We’re just there.
And we don’t need all that.
You know why?
Our announcing is in our actions, and the crowd is the one person we’re with.
That’s how we do it.
Your mission field? It isn’t necessarily a far-away place. What if it’s where your feet are?
Who walks beside you today? Who is at the table where you sit?
How do you conduct yourself? How do you treat your companion? And what do you say?
That’s so much, it’s another post.
Today, let’s keep our focus on the person who announces.
And we have some examples, like Michael Buffer.
Here’s another important announcer, John (the Baptist).
Matthew 3:11 says
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
There’s more about John The Baptist, lots more. But this is enough to consider something…
I want to review the announcer observations from before…
I think there are similarities. Do you?
First, he showed a lot of excitement and attention toward the actual participant. He used his voice to build excitement, dressed the part, and was associated with a champion. A winner. He said the name and described him with great respect and enthusiasm.
Second, he invited the audience to participate just by his habits and his methods. They couldn’t wait to hear him. People started to recognize him and seek him out. Even though he was just the announcer.
Third, he disappeared as the event began, allowing the star to take the spotlight.
I’ll probably have to say more about this another day.
After all, this announcement long ago is the most important thing.
It’s what we talk about in the last five minutes. It has gotten my attention.
There’s a lot more in the Bible about announcers. Here’s one article that introduces some of them. It’s from Crosswalk, called The Life of John The Baptist.
For now, I want to review my role, and see how I’m doing with that crowd of one who will hear about the champion from me.
And maybe I need to re-think my opinion of announcing…
Up until now, I didn’t give it a lot of thought. It’s more important, isn’t it?
Has it got you thinking?
No tuxedo, microphone, or flashing lights. No hype.
Just a message.
A message of hope to a bankrupt person, the message that brought me out of my own poverty into eternal riches.
Matthew 28:19-20
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I’ve got another topic about that important thing: Why Do They Say You Can’t Go Home?
And you may wonder What You’ll Leave Behind.
Because this is really the most important thing.
What if you hear this?
“Announcer, Party of One: Your table is ready.”
You’ve been called.
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-Grammye
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Use the compelling power of the pause. One of the most effective techniques in all forms of speaking is the well-timed pause. In music, it is the important interval between the notes. In art, it is the absence of color or form to draw attention to a key element. Pausing takes a little practice because we are prone to want to fill in all the spaces with words, but when mastered it is very powerful. Pauses can be used to maximum advantage just before beginning to speak, during a story, to let information sink in, to create suspense, before and/or after making a key point, when the audience laughs at a joke, when asking or responding to a question, or just before and/or after closing. Pauses can create pleasing rhythms in a presentation. When delivering from a text, you can mark the text with symbols to show where pauses are most effective (after practice, of course)
That’s from The University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. One of several tips on “Using Your Voice Effectively.”
Ring announcers have a special kind of charisma. I had the opportunity to watch Bruce Buffer in action live. So great that some people make a good living doing what they do best, no matter how niche it is. Thanks for this post!
Charisma, that’s the word. I can only imagine the fun of being there, hearing exactly what you know he’ll say along with thousands of others, and being delighted! You know what? You’re right: About people making a good living doing what they do best. Sometimes the path to that is the long way around, but we all hope to get there. (When it happens, give the old Ric Flair WOOOO and run with it.) Thanks, Stuart, for stopping by with real experience!