He is a Great DJ....But...

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Sorry for the delayed reply everyone, 4 weddings in 4 days doesn't give one much time to get online.

Any way a little bit more about the DJ, and not that any of this matters to me and I am not trying to imply anything so don't even go in that direction.

He is black, and from one of the Caribbean Islands, (cant recall which one right now). I guess you could say that when he is speaking I find that he mumbles or muffles his words, he does have a bit of an accent as well, however he also sings and has recorded a couple of songs and you can understand him perfectly when he is singing. If there was some way to bring his singing voice out to his spoken words then that would be exactly what was needed. Hope all that makes sense
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Request Line Productions said:
You can't understand him why? Because he's impaired or bi-lingual? If he's impaired, he knows and would probably agree to assistant. If he's bi-lingual, he may not realize that his English is broken, so you may have to be more delicate.
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I think that he does realize that his English is broken as I have seen many people ask him to repeat himself many times.
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Cesar said:
What has this DJ been doing for you the last 8 months. What type of events have you sent him to?
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Over the last 8 months he has been either assisting at various events as well we have a contract on a small boat company here that takes tours on the Ottawa River, it only requires minimal talking so we have been able to have him working on the boat, however as summer slowly winds down so do the bookings on the boat.
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eklondon said:
Instead of isolating one DJ, why not enlist all your DJs into public speaking course or toastmasters
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That is a great idea, I know that I could benefit from that, it is always great to continue learning, its something that I will look into
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DJ Teddy Bear said:
A - You have to tell him the truth.

B - Suggest the speech class / toasmasters options, but don't make it a job requirement.

C - Send an MC with him to all events that require announcements, such as weddings.

D - Explain the situation saying, if he could do the MC stuff himself, you could send a lower-paid roadie with him, or send him alone, and the extra cash would be his.

E - Explain that DJing may be a lifetime career. But if he ever wanted to get out and into the business world, the speech thing would be a serious impedement.


D & E should motivate him to do something about it.
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All great ideas, I especially like E
 
Steve Bourguignon said:
Sorry for the delayed reply everyone, 4 weddings in 4 days doesn't give one much time to get online.

...

he also sings and has recorded a couple of songs and you can understand him perfectly when he is singing.
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Prove it! :sqlaugh:

Hey, I have an Iranian neighbour, and she sorta sings when she talks. It's quite nice. Check it out. Say, "Have a nice day," then "sing" it. I don't mean pull a Mariah Carey, but just add some extra intonation and rhythm; together, they'll make a bit of a melody without turning something into a bad opera. :sqlaugh:

Try it with your DJ. If you don't want to make him sad or upset, then say something like, "Eh, Mon, da people dem a lik it when you add a likkle bit a melody inna dat voice. Seen?" :)
 
Cesar said:
ou812

I understand where your coming from but a DJ Company is a team and it is only as good as the weakest DJ. When asked for a business card at a event chances are the DJ will give the company card not a personal business card so the company will be evaluated by that DJ. It doesn't matter if the other three members of the DJ Team are the 3 best DJs on this board they will fall under the evaluation of that client that met that one DJ.
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All our DJ's have a company card with their name on it, so I can track where the referrals are coming from, every referral booking gets them a bonus
 
Ever listen to M-M-M-M-Mel Tillis talk?

He sings entirely different.....

Many singers from England sing with no accent......

I have a lateral lisp. You didn't hear it when I was working radio....

There's nothing wrong with the accent; most would think that was cool. With practice; the mumbling can be dealt with.....
 
Give him a mic stand that forces his head up it pevents mumbling
 
Steve Bourguignon said:
he also sings and has recorded a couple of songs and you can understand him perfectly when he is singing. If there was some way to bring his singing voice out to his spoken words.
Mr. K said:
Prove it!
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Remember Jim Nabors? (He is most famous for his role as Gomer Pyle).

He had a very prominent and distinctive nasal country twang to his speaking voice, but had a beautiful singing voice of almost opera caliber. As an experiment, he did try the sing/talk thing, but, since he was also a comedian, he decided to keep his regular voice. It eventually became his "trademark".


Jeff Romard said:
Give him a mic stand that forces his head up - it pevents mumbling.
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Great idea to prevent the mumbling. Don't think it would do anything for the accent though...
 
DJ Teddy Bear said:
Great idea to prevent the mumbling. Don't think it would do anything for the accent though...
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It's almost impossible to kill off an accent especially one that is entrenched since birth and even harder if they go back to the situation (family). If you can prevent the mumbling at least the accent is clear and easier to work with.
 
Steve, I think instead of trying to shoehorn this guy into a wedding emcee, why not play off his strengths? You say he's a great beatmixer, and I'm sure if he was on Carnival he knows how to get a crowd moving. Sounds like a school and mitzvah guy to me!

Why not try developing more of that type of business with him in mind. You can even hype him specifically (although I'd try to get him to sign a contract...you don't want to have contracts for him and then he goes off on his own) based on his talents.
 
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