Tincy Tan emcee story: from flyer girl to Abu Dhabi stage

Emcee Tincy Tan once handed out flyers to pay her university room rent. Now she hosts conferences, galas and product launches in English, Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu and Cantonese.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Tan has spent more than ten years on stage. Her clients include Mastercard, UOB Bank and BMW.

Her path runs from campus part-time work to stages in Abu Dhabi, Bangkok and Vietnam. It also shows how a working emcee prepares, competes and helps younger hosts.

From event crew to the microphone

Tan began as a freelance part-timer. She took any event job that paid, including event crew, promoter and flyer girl. She even sold festival tickets to earn more commission.

Every job helped cover her university room rent. Yet one role kept catching her eye. “Every time I saw an emcee, I was always captivated by them,” she says.

One day, she told herself she wanted to be like them. Slowly, she moved from selling tickets to holding the microphone. She has been emceeing ever since.

Her website says she entered the emcee industry at 19. It lists annual dinners, award nights, product launches, cultural ceremonies and weddings among her hosted events.

Tincy Tan hosting for banks and brands abroad

In Abu Dhabi, Tan represented a company at the AIM Congress. She presented its business proposal to investors and potential business partners.

Nerves nearly got in the way. “I had so much self-doubt before that, but I did it anyway with full preparation and many sleepless nights,” she says.

Her client was very happy. The company then hired her for more events.

Bangkok brought a different kind of break. She hosted a Mastercard event at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok. That single job opened many other opportunities to host banking events.

In Vietnam, she hosted an AIA incentive trip. For her, size was not the point. “It wasn’t about how grand the event was, but rather how much energy the audience brought,” she says. The laughter and excitement made it one of her most memorable events.

A dancer’s background and a pre-show routine

Before emceeing took over, Tan was a professional dancer. While very young, she entered competitions and performed for companies and events. These included Astro Battleground, WebTVAsia and MILO Run.

After a decade of hosting, she asked herself a simple question. Why not mix both skills together? That is how she brought her dance side into her services.

Her backstage routine is practical. Besides makeup tools, warm water and mouth spray, she does two things before every show. First, she visualises how she wants the event to go, “which works for me all the time”.

Second, she takes a deep breath into her diaphragm right before stepping on stage. She says this helps her stay grounded.

Tincy Tan: Advice for young hosts

Competition among emcees is getting more intense, Tan says. For that reason, she keeps improving. She also thinks about how to serve each client based on their different needs and wants.

Her advice for newcomers starts with attitude. “Always be humble and respectful, because you never know who you’re going to meet,” she says.

Honesty matters just as much. She tells young hosts to be clear about what they can deliver. Taking on work outside your area of expertise, she warns, is a quick way to get it wrong.

She is also sharing tips online. Her “Let’s Talk” series on social media covers how to speak confidently. That way, she can help more young hosts, not only those who approach her one-on-one.

Planners can view the portfolio of emcee Tincy Tan, and book her, on the official website of Tincy Tan. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.