Anyone who thinks the MC job is easy, should try it. It isn't as easy as it looks. (Thus says me, who acted as MC for the first time ever, a short while ago...and speaking purely from that one experience!)

In my opinion, you have to work very hard to look relaxed, friendly and encouraging without having too big an opinion of yourself...at the same time as introducing new and regular acts in an interesting and informative but not over-zealous manner. You also have to be prepared to keep the night ticking over if there are any delays and not to appear biased towards anyone.

If you are really complimentary about one act and not another it is not diplomatic...the list goes on
I made a lot of basic mistakes in my first effort but the mistakes were as valuable as the rest of the experience...I won't make those mistakes if I ever do it again, although I dare say I would probably make a load of fresh ones!

If I look back at the first time I ever did a gig, I cringe at some of the mistakes we made as a band...the art of performing is something that takes time and I know I still have a long way to go. I hope I never think that I have perfected it, if I am honest. I think being MC is something that also takes an awful lot of practice before you can make it look easy. Different MCs have different styles and not every one likes each approach.
Cheers to all regular MCs! I have a lot more respect for you since my attempt at it! Would be interested to hear about some more of the techniques others use when MC-ing.