So, you’ve decided to opt for a Silent Disco for your next party or event and you’re now wondering what you need to do differently from a regular old DJ and PA System set up. Here’s our Top 5 Tips for hosting an unforgettable ‘silent’ party, honed from over 10 years in the industry.
- Choose the right space
You are aiming for an intimate atmosphere for Silent Discos, check your numbers and consider your space carefully. If you have too much space available for people to mill around in the ‘corners’ the people dancing may well feel more self conscious. Choose a room that immerses everyone in the experience.
- Make sure you order enough headsets
The silent disco is ALWAYS very popular. Even those die hard bar proppers who normally refuse to dance won’t be able to resist the dance floor once they stick on a pair of headsets! So make sure you’ve got enough for all of your guests.
- Manage the headphones properly
Depending on the size of your Silent Disco, different measures will be necessary to ensure no one wonders off with a set of headphones. For larger events you might consider taking a deposit, having door staff and someone dedicated to managing the headphones. For smaller affairs, you could just take ID card for the duration of the party or if it’s a wedding, private party there’s prob no need for either. Make sure that everyone that enters has their own pair of headphones, this reduces the likelihood of swapping and people claiming they didn’t have a pair when in fact they lost them!
- Have background music
We all love to have a little chat at a party, but taking headphones off to a room of silence or singing can be a little odd. Set the atmosphere and have some quiet ambient music playing, whether this be one of the channels or something else entirely. It will also ease people into the experience at the start of the night.
And perhaps most importantly…..
- Get the music right!
We’ve seen the best of the best silent parties over the years, the most successful ones without doubt are the ones who get the music right! So key things to remember. Make sure you have a lot of variety. One of the best things about having a silent disco is that you can cater for all tastes. Choose 3 playlists with a really wide range of music on there so that if people don’t like what’s on green they can flick to blue or red and so on. Don’t be afraid of a bit of cheese! Silent discos shouldn’t be taken too seriously and a healthy dose of cheesy pop always goes down well. Remember if you’ve got some musical snobbery in your ranks then don’t worry, they can switch to one of the ‘cooler’ channels while you & your mates have it out to the Macarena!! Lets put on our classics and have a little dance shall we.You can’t go wrong with classic party anthems and feel good tunes. Power Ballads. ALWAYS a winner at a silent disco. A dancefloor full of people singing along (often badly) to Mr Brightside, Livin’ on a Prayer or Bohemian Rhapsody is truly a site to behold.
We have years of experience in the live events industry, so if you have any questions please feel free to get in touch with the team and ask away!
