We asked our community what separates good DJs from great ones. Over 600 responses came back…and technical ability barely got a mention. Instead, the DJs who really understood their craft focused on something far simpler: connecting with people.
Whether they were playing weddings, clubs, or just mixing at home, the answers pointed to the same truth: great DJing is about serving the room, not yourself.
The answers covered reading rooms, managing egos, preparation strategies, professional habits, and why helping other DJs might be the secret to improving yourself. What’s striking is how similar the responses were across bedroom DJs, mobile DJs, and club professionals – the fundamentals of greatness don’t change based on where you play.
So here’s what the community told us…
Read the room, not your playlist
This came up more than anything else. DJ Triple X from Canada explained why: “Their ability to quickly understand what the crowd in front of them need at any moment throughout the night. Moving a dancefloor is not only about the music but also the emotional state you create.”
Chris M. got practical: “You can show up with a whole set list in mind and that’s just not the vibe sometimes. Ability to adapt and feed off your crowd is a big deal.”
Reading a crowd isn’t mystical – there are rules that work. Play for the people on the dancefloor when it’s not full. When it fills up, play for the people around the edges. This way, everyone gets their turn to dance.
Watch for patterns. Notice when energy drops. Pay attention to who’s dancing and who’s watching – then adjust. The skill comes from experience, but the approach is straightforward.
Say something with your music
One line appeared again and again: “A good DJ plays tunes you want to hear. A great DJ plays tunes you didn’t know you wanted to hear.” Clive F. said it first, then Johnny S., Pete M., Wayne D., Robert D., Alan G., and at least a dozen others repeated variations of exactly this.
Richard S. described what this looks like: “A great DJ can make you dance to stuff you never heard before, but the vibe is so tight, they can’t help themselves.”
Every DJ approaches this differently. Some play crowd-pleasers for the first half, then get adventurous. Others mix “educating tracks” with “entertaining tracks”, adjusting the balance based on what they think they can get away with. Another approach is using remixes of tracks people recognise in the style you want to explore.
Get the pro skills to rock ANY gig: The Complete DJ Course
The key is understanding that every set has a beginning, middle, and end. You need to get everyone on the same page before you move on. Think of it like grabbing a microphone to address a crowd – you don’t launch straight into your main message. You get their attention first.
Once you’ve mastered dividing your set into three parts, start thinking about peaks and troughs rather than holding energy at one level. Structure beats endless energy every time.
Leave your ego at the door
Simon D.’s answer was brief: “Not having an ego.” Kevin G. expanded: “A good DJ still carries an ego. A great DJ doesn’t.”
Mickey N. nailed it with “A great DJ will adjust to any room they are in and create a fun environment for who is there rather than just play what they want to hear. Taking yourself out of your ego for the greater good of others is what makes us great.”
Work with the idea of abundance. There’s enough of everything for everyone, and a zero-sum mentality isn’t the way to be creative or survive in a creative industry. Know that everything you give will come back to you.
The best DJs are invariably the most down-to-earth, humble, giving people you could imagine. Look at the DJs at the top – people like Laidback Luke, James Hype, and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Look how generous they are, especially with how much they share about the craft.
Watch the show
Prefer me to talk you through this? In this video, a recording of a live show from the Digital DJ Tips YouTube channel, I talk you through everything in this article, and we take questions from our community on the subject.
Help others, help yourself
Steve D. said it best: “A great DJ is a good DJ who’s willing to help others and share their knowledge.” Crina A.T. added: “The ‘good’ ones have so much room to grow. The ‘great’ ones help the good ones to grow!”
One of the great things about teaching other DJs is that the teacher invariably learns at least as much as the pupil. Supporting other DJs is always going to give you more than you can imagine. This is how skills compound in a community.
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The professional difference
Mikey A. got to the heart of it with “A good DJ will do your gig. A great DJ will be so good you will have him/her again.”
Professionalism has nothing to do with DJing skills, but so few DJs genuinely have it that just by exhibiting basic professionalism, you give yourself a bigger chance of getting rebooked. Simple things: turn up on time, be friendly, remember people’s names, stay sober, do what you’re asked, be polite.
Read this next: How To Behave In Public As a DJ – Your Secret Weapon For More Gigs
So many DJs turn up late, full of ego, with hundreds of friends in tow. Just by getting the basics right, you move it from being a transaction that happens once to a relationship where you get booked over and over again.
Prepare like mad, then improvise
Jason S. explained the tension here: “Great DJs can play off the fly and change the energy by reading the room and not playing a pre-planned set that gets played no matter what the crowd reaction is.”
Preparing for a DJ gig is like revising for an exam. You’re never going to use everything you revise, but it’s a silly student who doesn’t revise the whole subject. Think about all eventualities. Who might be there? What if a different crowd turns up? If your planned sets don’t work, what will you play instead?
Pack about twice the amount of music you’re actually going to play. It means you can be flexible but also prepared. It’s a dirty secret from the world of vinyl DJs, where we physically couldn’t carry more than about twice the amount of music we needed to any gig.
Finally…
Summed up, great DJs serve the room, share what they know, stay humble, show up professionally, prepare thoroughly, and never stop learning. The technical stuff? That’s just the entry fee. The real work begins when you realise it’s not about you at all.
And if you’re wondering where your DJing sits on this spectrum, the honest answer is that you already know – the question is whether you’re ready to do something about it.
Phil Morse
