8 Tips For Hosting A Most Excellent Trivia Show

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You'll be able to party on with these 8 excellent tips for hosting a fantastic trivia night!
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Trivia nights are a super popular event at bars, restaurants, and pubs all over the world. One night in the 1970s, a pub owner in the UK decided to hold a pub quiz, and the trivia scene was born! Now, anyone with a mic and a venue can host a show, but if you want to host a really spectacular show you need to figure out these 8 key ingredients.
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Wherever I Hang My Hat Is Home...the Venue.

Having a good venue for the show is crucial! You want a place that is big enough to accommodate a reasonable amount of teams, but you don’t want it so big that those in the back don’t feel like part of the show. You need to have ample seating with plenty of room for teammates to huddle and confer over answers, but those venue servers still have enough space to squeeze in between tables and deliver the food and drinks.

To Theme or Not To Theme, That is the Question.

Having a themed trivia night could go either way, right? People can be a bit rabid about attending events themed for their particular fandom, but at the same time, you risk alienating those trivia players that aren’t interested in whatever theme you have chosen for the evening. You can lessen the gamble by seeing what themes have worked for people in the past, polling theme ideas on social media, pre-selling tickets on Eventbrite to gauge interest, and match a theme to a venue (a sport bar would probably do well with a sports trivia night for example.)
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From The Window to the Wall...Getting People in the Door.

Your trivia night will be a total flop if no one knows it even exists. Make sure you get the word out that your event is taking place so you can have a successful show. Harness the power of social media, invite all of your friends and family, have the venue do a few shout outs, create Eventbrite events, post flyers around town etc etc etc. Try to utilize as many marketing tactics as you can think of to spread the word about your show.

Keep it Simple, Stupid! The Rules That Is.

Try to keep the rules of your game as simple and straightforward as possible. Also, make sure that you fully explain them to the teams before beginning the show. You may want to decide on your strategy for handling disputes or errors beforehand, so that you can remain cool and confident if a team challenges your decision.
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This Dog Walks Into a Bar...Be Entertaining.

Know your rules, your trivia material, how to run your equipment, and how to score your teams inside and out before your show, that way you can focus on being an engaging and entertaining host while the show is on. People will likely get bored if you are constantly having technical difficulties or have extended pauses while you are tallying scores. Keep it light and funny, and your teams will be back again and again.

May the Best Team Win...Inspire a Little Friendly Competition.

Keep the teams updated on their scores throughout the games to spur the competitive side of your players. Teams will try that much harder if they know exactly how many points they are from winning. Friendly competition is a good thing, but also make sure that your lower scoring teams feel encouraged!
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Swag! Prize Time! 

Many venues will provide gift certificates or free promotional items to be used as prizes for your winning teams. If they do not, pick up a few odds and ends at the dollar store or Target. People like to win things, even if they are just little bits of silly nonsense. If all else fails, buy your winning team a round of beers!

Errybody in the Club Get Tipsy!

Speaking of beers, alcohol is never amiss at any event! A little liquid fortification can up the competition and participation levels of your teams. That isn’t to say that venues without alcohol can’t run a successful show...we’re just saying everyone seems funnier when their crowd has had a beer or two...

There you have it, folks! Eight tips and tricks to have you hosting a stellar trivia night in no time flat!

​If you are looking for even more tips, try ourtrivia host handbook!

Do you have a fantastic trivia tip that you think we should know about? Are you an avid trivia player and have a little tidbit of advice on making a show better? Drop us a line! We are always open for suggestions!