TIPS ON HOW TO HANDLE REQUEST WHILE DJING
How to Handle requests.
There’s no question that DJs everywhere have had to handle DJ requests at some point in their experiences as entertainers. No matter where you may be DJing, requests are a common occurrence that you should learn to get comfortable with. Here are a few of our best tips for how to handle DJ requests during your set!
*Keep Calm
As annoying as requests usually are, do your best to remain calm. The last thing you want to do is snap at someone and come off as an unapproachable a%*hole. Remember, people are (usually) there to have a go If you look at it through the opposite perspective, you’ll see that anyone with a request cares about music at the very least enough to have a favourite song so as a fellow music lover, try to respect that. This doesn’t mean you have to play their request, but you should be receptive enough to come off as a professional.
*Make Them Earn It
What I mean by this is, even the nicest and most laid back DJ’s don’t have to play requests unless it was a part of the deal they knew going into the gig. Make your new DJ booth friend earn their request by asking them the following question:
*“Is your request good?”
This usually throws people off. Some people will confidently say yes and either request something you don’t agree with or something well aligned with what you’d play anyway. Others will freeze and not know what to say. This is an easy strategy for getting rid of requests you probably don’t want to hear, and a great way to handle DJ requests during your set.
*Proceed As Normal
Another great way to handle DJ requests during your set is by simply nodding your head or giving a thumbs-up to the girl obnoxiously waving her blinding cell phone at you from the front of your setup.
This may be a bit misleading if you don’t actually intend to play the request, which, let’s face it… you’re not going to… but it acknowledges the person asking, and in the best case scenario they will go about their business dancing and drinking. They may even become too busy having fun to ask you again. Letting the person requesting know that you will see if you have their song and play it if you can is also an easy and polite way to handle DJ requests.
Have these guidelines in mind next time you’re DJing instead of brushing people off completely, and you’ll be much more likely to keep a happy crowd.
Announcer