All it took was a few seconds on stage for Issa Litton’s career path to change. “I grabbed the microphone during the final tableau of a fashion show that I was part of during my college days. I got the crowd to respond to me and then left,” she tells Manila Bulletin. “As I was making my way down the stage, the director and production people were asking for my name and contact details.”
It’s been over two decades since that fateful day, and not a day goes by that she doesn’t look back to how that moment changed her life forever. Fast forward to today, she is one of the most-requested hosts with her extensive hosting works that range from corporate and lifestyle parties and launches, to even philanthropic ones.
These culminate in three ALIW Awards for “Best Female Emcee, PMPC Star Awards “Best Lifestyle Host,” and United Nations & UNESCO Award for Community Services. She also received the “Best Host” award in 2020—a time when most of the events were held online.
When asked why she loves hosting, “It’s the live experience, the connection with an audience, the energy of a gathering. Learning never stops. There is always information shared and I get to play with the delivery of every program, and the performance aspect of it. There is no such thing as auto-pilot on hosting, especially for live events.”
Starting her entrepreneurial journey
But, apparently, another exciting chapter was about to unfold for the multi-hyphenated Issa Litton who is also an actress, and a resource and motivational speaker. “The rare times that I would be a guest at an event, people around me would say ‘sana ikaw na lang mag host.’ It’s very flattering, and, yes, an ego boost, but I also found myself asking, ‘Can I do something about that?”
Instead of sitting on her laurels, the nurturing personality of this mom-of-two stood out, and that is to train and manage hosts. She thought to herself, “Can I transfer or teach my skills to others?”
This is when she founded the 1Lit Corp in 2019 where she is the president, head trainer, and manager of hosts and speakers. Hosting services and management, training and consultancy, online communications and public speaking training, digital content creation, and live productions are the services 1Lit Corp offers.
Her main role though, was to produce quality hosts that represent who and 1Lit Corp stands for. She started by creating modules for her handpicked hosts, even holding simulated activities to train them. When she knew her team of hosts were ready, that’s when she started introducing them to clients.
Shifting gears
In 1Lit Corp’s second year, which was 2020, the lockdown happened. “I had to retrain my hosts for online work. I introduced an entirely different skill set that involved production set-up, and tapped a few more potential hosts,” she tells Manila Bulletin on how she quickly adapted.
Knowing well that everything was happening online, with regular people going on Zoom meetings and online conferences and presentations, another opportunity arose for her to share her skills to a wider market. “The demand for online communication skills was so high that I found myself teaching and training corporate sales teams, CEOs, marketing and human resources departments tapped me as well, even nurses, doctors, lawyers, and bankers.”
“The teachers, I taught for free. That was my advocacy. Better teachers produce better students. This is my contribution to nation-building,” Issa shares.
She also renamed her module to “Online Impact: Upgrade your Presence & Delivery.”It was suddenly relevant to everybody. Anyone who wanted to improve their confidence speaking in front of an audience, presenting a deck, leading meetings or pitching, or talking to clients, customers, and patients signed up.”
She has since updated the module and named it “Your Best Self—Presence & Delivery, the 1Lit Way.” Two years of working from home, people needed to be reminded on how to behave face-to-face. “A need to brush-up on professional manners is now in-demand. I call it Carriage. It’s like personality development but with a lot of talking and speech work, with presence and delivery.”
Adapting to changes
It has been four amazing years running 1Lit Corp, but it hasn’t been an easy ride for the first-time entrepreneur Issa. “I learned patience. And, just like hosting, there is not just one way to teach. As long as the skill set is met, I adjust my exercises to challenge, correct, and guide,” she explains.
Issa Litton with Mica Pineda and Anne Gauthier
Mica Pineda, Anne Gauthier, Aziza Mondonedo, Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, and Jake Seneres are part of 1Lit Corp’s pool of hosts. “I check on them and ask for coffee dates to catch up. We have group sessions to bond and learn from each other, too!” As the “mother” of this group of hosts, Issa is beyond fulfilled with how it has been for her, “I love the fulfillment of seeing my hosts grow and earn their place in the industry. I take pride in offering something of great value, how our services fill in a need and/or a demand. And, most of all, I’m grateful for the trust and recommendations from my events network—from the production teams to the clientele.”
Issa Litton and her pool of hosts
On having more female hosts under her wing, Issa reveals that it’s because clients would request someone like her. She hopes to add more male hosts, and social media and personalities in the future. She continues to remind her hosts not to drop the ball, and to remember the five Cs—competence, clarity, connection, carriage, and consistency.
Call it serendipity, call it destiny. Issa put up the company when she was 40 years old, inspiring others that it’s never too late to take on new roles. “There’s also the legacy idea. I’d like to give back to this industry that I love very much, leave my mark, and establish my brand of hosting.”