Nikita Rana – corporate emcee in mumbai for ET Edge at Taj Lands End, Mumbai

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Nikita Rana – corporate emcee in mumbai for ET Edge at Taj Lands End, Mumbai

This short video captures a few seconds from my introduction of Mr. Sam Balsara on the ET Edge stage at Taj Lands End, Mumbai.

I’m Nikita Rana, and on this particular evening in Mumbai at Taj Lands End ET Edge trusted me to open the stage for advertising icon Mr. Sam Balsara at one of their leadership conferences. The ballroom was filled with senior marketers, media leaders and brand custodians, all expecting precision in every minute of the programme. As an event emcee, my responsibility was to turn their quiet conversations into focused anticipation and to frame Mr. Balsara’s journey in a way that honoured his legacy while supporting the business narrative ET Edge wanted the room to carry home.

Before any spotlight hits the guest, the words of the introduction decide how the audience will listen. Often, organisers send across long biographies that read like résumés, dense with designations and award lists. On this occasion, we decided to strip the script back to the emotion that really mattered. Only after sketching the scale of his contribution did I refer to myself, on that stage, as a female emcee in mumbai who has seen how labels like “veteran” can feel limiting. I spoke instead about how that word does not do justice to what he has given the industry and described him as a legend who has poured in blood, sweat and tears. From the console to the back row, I could feel heads lift, because the room understood that this was not going to be another routine citation.

That respect needed to be grounded in specifics. So I spoke of a company founded thirty-two years and one month ago, emphasising that every month counts when you are building a global communications group. In that sentence, the ET Edge delegates heard both the scale of Madison’s journey and the discipline it takes to stay relevant year after year. As the anchor for corporate event duties that evening, I also had to manage time—delivering a tight, high-impact introduction that kept the agenda on track while still allowing the audience to absorb the story. Balancing those two priorities is where an emcee quietly protects the organiser’s objectives, ensuring that the celebration of a leader never comes at the cost of the schedule.

The transition from story to stage is another deliberate moment. After acknowledging Mr. Balsara as founder, chairman and managing director of Madison Communications and Madison World, I invited the room to give him a big round of applause and then guided their energy towards the stage. A professional emcee does more here than simply say, “Please welcome our guest.” The spacing between lines, the tone on the word “legend”, the pause before saying, “Mr. Sam, the stage is all yours,” all signalled that this was a senior leader whose time we were privileged to share. The result was a wave of applause that felt organic, yet remained perfectly timed with the event’s run sheet and camera cues.

Later in the evening, when Mr. Balsara spoke about how the most difficult thing in the world is getting someone to reach for their wallet or swipe a card, the message echoed the earlier introduction. The room was already primed to think about commitment, investment and long-term value. For ET Edge, this alignment between content and context is not accidental; it is designed in collaboration with the emcee. If you are considering an emcee for hire, you are really looking for someone who can listen deeply to your business objectives, shape the language on stage and read the micro-reactions in the audience so that every segment—from keynote to panel to felicitation—serves a strategic purpose.

My gratitude to the ET Edge leadership team for trusting me with this introduction and for the meticulous backstage coordination that made the evening flow with ease. It was a pleasure working alongside the show directors, technical crew and the Taj Lands End team, who ensured that every cue, from sound to lighting, supported the narrative we were building for the audience.

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Respectfully,

Founder & CEO

Nikita Rana Group Pvt Ltd

+91-9324683693

ceo@nikitarana.com