5 Reasons Why Parties Fail (and how to avoid them)

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  • Guests following the host
    • Parties can be socially anxious events for some people. Typically, folks that come to a party don’t all know each other. Sometimes partiers can stick to the host that invited them. This creates a cascade where the energy of the party follows whatever the host is doing; so if the host isn’t on the floor, neither are the guests. As a host, be sure to check that this isn’t the case and everyone is having a good time independent of you.
  • Giving reasons to leave the party room
    • Even the best planners commit this mistake without realizing it; they give guests reasons to leave the party! Not reasons to leave the party entirely, but reasons to not be in the main room where the party is. This takes all sorts of forms: putting the bar outside the dancing room, not having adequate seating in the function room (not everyone can dance the whole time), serving desert in the hallway, placing photo booths in the hall, etc. If you want to keep the energy going at your event, keep all the energy in the room.
  • Wrong music
    • The most important factor in hiring a DJ, is making sure you hired the right DJ. Not every DJ knows the music every crowd wants to hear. This goes the other way too, when the host is programing the night’s music, they need to be sure that the music they select is going to jive with the crowd. Be sure to consult with your DJ on music for the event so both sides can bring what it takes to get your crowd going.
  • Wrong crowd
    • There are some crowds that are going to dance and there are some that just aren’t. In my experience, I’ve found that some of the most dance-ready crowds are ones that share a common thread (all went to the same school, all are direct friends of the host, are all on the same retreat, etc.). That’s not to say, that’s the only thing to consider, but be sure to avoid gathering a crowd where there’s bound to be a lot of social anxiety.
  • Schedule
    • Of this list, by far this should be the easiest pitfall to avoid. When planning a party, make sure you actually have time to party. It takes time for people to work up to dance! So often I do events where time to dance is packed into the tail end of the event, and by the time the crowd actually works up to dancing, there’s 15 minutes left! Not only should there be enough time budgeted, but be careful not to give your audience a reason to leave before the night is over (last shuttle leaves early, party falls on a work-night, parking restrictions, etc.).

There’s a lot to account for when you’re planning a party, but hopefully these tips can point you in the right direction, so when you book a DJ for your next event, you get your time and money’s worth!