DJ Mannerisms to Stay Away From

When people think of a radio DJ a few things come to mind: Loud, booming voices. Wild personalities and fast talking. None of these are truly what a radio DJ should be unless that’s their personality. Today’s radio DJ is someone that the audience wants to be friends with, a relatable voice who connects with the listener one-to-one.

 

Here are some things to avoid as a radio DJ:

• Avoid making your voice deeper, booming or “Announcer like”
• “WHATS UP EVERYBODY” – this is bad because you want to seem like you are having a conversation with the listener
• Avoid talking about too much in a single on-air break
• “Coming up next” while said song is now playing – this is very common, but it’s not coming up next it’s “now playing”
• Avoid being wacky and using weird voices for the sake of doing it

If you want to learn more about being a good on-air dj check out this. For general information about advancement, salaries etc. check this out. If you don’t know where to start click here.

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What makes radio entertaining?

Something that is heard frequently in the radio world is “I thought radio was dying” and “Who listens to the radio anymore?”. They did a study in the 70s about media consumption among Americans over 11 and the results were that 93% listened to the radio weekly. This number is the exact same today, in 2017 93% of Americans listen to the radio weekly. If you are a huge nerd and want to see a more in depth breakdown of radio listening stats, here is the Radio Advertising Bureau Fact Sheet.

What draws people to the radio? Is it a lack of Spotify and Aux cord connections or is it something a little more? From what I have gathered, people like listening to their local DJs. They enjoy the conversation that is had on air and they like a friendly voice to connect with their favorite station. As an on-air DJ you have to realize this, people are coming to you as a friend and they want to be talked to like a friend.

I have a late-night hip hop show (The Night Show) with my friend DJ Stunner. In this show we realize that we are friends of the people and only talk about what they want to hear about. A good DJ knows their audience and how to speak to them as such. During this show we talk about what is going on in the hip hop world as well as talking about things that interest a hip hop listener. Any one can go on a mic and read out some written lines but it takes a talented DJ to really connect with the audience.

Let me know if you have any area of radio that you would like to find about more about and smash that follow button on Twitter.

You can listen online at tmn.truman.edu

Picture: Me and DJ Stunner at The Night Show

Being a DJ

College radio encompasses so many cool things about being an on-air radio DJ. The most fun part, in my opinion, is being able to relate and connect to the community. As an influencer, you decide what is important for the listener to know. This can be anything from neat events in the community to breaking news. As a DJ, you are in control of what information is distributed, it’s an important job! I love reading about the weather, community events and talking about the music that I play. Over everything, the music is still what drives a radio station. This blog’s purpose is to educate on what I do as a DJ and what my friends at the station do to maintain and improve our station. If you have any questions about radio or what it’s like working at a college station feel free to get in contact with me! Like/Share to help my audience grow.