Now there is a lot more to this comedy lark than meets the eye. A newer comic asked for some tips on MCing, as he was about to try it for the first time. Here's my response:

1) Be nice and friendly, talk to the audience, find out a little bit about them and what they do (try and keep it funny).
2) If an act has done well, try and use that momentum to bring the next act on, rather than using that time to try your own material out.
3) If an act has done OK, feel free to try some material out or chat to them some more, but try to keep the audience receptive for the next act.
4) If an act hasn't done quite so well, or sucked arse, spend a bit of time getting the audience warm and receptive for the next act.
Hope that helps. Best of luck!

And my favourite tip for MC'ing comes from (in my opinion) one of the best, Jarred Christmas:

'Great MCs are comics who are adaptable. They need to be able to roll with the situation and let their material flow whenever it's appropriate and required. They need to be likeable. If you are getting up after every act, you want the audience thinking: “I like this guy,”'

Read the full interview here: http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/article/1153/jarred-christmas-interview

Please feel free to comment with your own tips, and if you're a developing stand-up, you can't go far wrong with Logan