Using a Microphone as a DJ: Technique, Feedback and What to Say

By NaJade · DJ in Bangkok · Published October 20, 2026

This guide is part of how to learn to DJ: the complete guide.

The skill that terrifies most DJs and books the most work. Mic distance, feedback, what to say, and how to stop before you’ve said too much.

Plenty of DJs who can’t beatmatch cleanly stay fully booked because they’re excellent on a microphone — and plenty of technically brilliant DJs never get the private-event work because they won’t touch one. It’s an uncomfortable truth about the business. For weddings, corporate events and private parties, being able to speak to a room is worth more commercially than most mixing skills, and it’s entirely learnable. The reverse is also true: a DJ who talks too much can flatten a good night.

Hold the microphone a few inches from your mouth — too far and you lose presence, too close and you sound congested. Never cover the head of the mic with your hand. Keep the channel down or off whenever you’re not speaking. Speak from the diaphragm rather than the throat, at a deliberate pace, and be brief. Learn three or four phrases before your first gig.

The Physical Technique

Do	Don’t
Hold it a few inches from your mouth	Hold it at chest or waist height
Grip the body of the mic	Cup your hand over the head
Speak from the diaphragm	Speak from the throat or nose
Keep the channel down when not talking	Leave it live all night
Point it away from speakers	Walk in front of the PA with it open

Distance is the single most common mistake. Too far away and you have no presence in the room; too close and you sound congested and boomy. A few inches is the target, consistently — moving the mic while you speak is what makes amateurs sound amateur.

Feedback, and How to Not Cause It

There’s a widespread belief that holding a mic close to your mouth causes feedback. It’s the opposite. Feedback typically happens when the mic is too close to a speaker, or when it’s held too far from the mouth and someone compensates by pushing the volume up.

Keep a hand on the mic channel whenever a guest is speaking, so you can ride the level.
Tell guests to hold it close before you hand it over. Nervous people forget immediately, so expect to manage it.
EQ the mic channel — rolling off the low end reduces boom and feedback risk.
Duck the music manually when you speak rather than shouting over it — see gain staging for DJs.
Know where the speakers are before you start walking with a wireless mic.

What to Actually Say

The fear isn’t usually the microphone. It’s not knowing what comes out of your mouth. Learn three or four phrases and you’ve solved most of it — a greeting, a transition line, a hype line, a closing line. You are not a comedian and you are not the entertainment; you’re the person keeping the evening moving.

Introduce yourself once, early. It establishes you as the person running the night.
Write names down. At a wedding, have every name you’ll need to announce written out. Reading is better than guessing.
Prepare prompts, not a script. Notes to jog your memory, so you don’t freeze — but nothing to read verbatim.
Be brief. The DJ who says less and says it well gets invited back.
Keep it clean and appropriate. A wedding is not a club. If you wouldn’t say it in front of the bride’s parents, don’t.

Pace and Delivery

Almost everyone speaks too fast on a microphone when nervous. Too fast and you garble and sound like an anxious amateur; too slow and pronounced and you drag the energy of the room down. The target is a deliberate, measured pace — slower than conversation, faster than a speech.

Practise at gig volume, not at home on headphones. Set up in a room roughly the size you’ll be working in, speak through the system, and listen to what actually comes back. It’s a completely different experience from hearing yourself in your own head.

A Note From NaJade

I avoided the mic for a long time. Progressive house isn’t a genre where anyone expects the DJ to talk, and I told myself that was a stylistic choice rather than nerves. Then I started taking weddings, where somebody has to tell two hundred people that dinner is served, and there was nowhere to hide. What surprised me is how little you actually need. Four phrases, delivered clearly, at the right moments. The DJs I’ve watched go wrong on a mic aren’t the quiet ones — they’re the ones who discovered they enjoyed it and couldn’t stop. My rule now is that every time I pick it up, I know the sentence I’m going to say and the sentence I’m going to stop at. If you’re nervous, start with the smallest possible thing: introduce yourself once at the beginning of your next gig. That’s it. It gets much easier after the first time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should a DJ hold a microphone?

A few inches from your mouth, consistently. Too far away and you lose presence in the room; too close and you sound congested and boomy. Grip the body of the microphone rather than cupping your hand over the head, which muffles the sound and increases feedback risk. Moving the mic around while speaking is one of the clearest signs of an inexperienced operator.

What causes microphone feedback?

Usually the microphone being too close to a speaker, or being held too far from the mouth while someone compensates by turning the volume up. Holding a mic close to your mouth does not cause feedback — that’s a common misconception, and the opposite is nearer the truth. Rolling off the low end on the mic channel and keeping the channel down when nobody is speaking both help significantly.

What should a DJ say on the mic?

Less than you think. Learn three or four phrases — a greeting, a transition line, a hype line and a closing line — and you’ve solved most of the problem. Introduce yourself once early so the room knows who’s running the night. At weddings, write down every name you’ll need to announce. Prepare prompts rather than a script, and stop before you’ve said too much.

How do you stop guests causing feedback with the mic?

Keep a hand on the microphone channel whenever a guest is speaking so you can ride the level in real time. Tell them to hold it close to their mouth before you hand it over, and expect them to forget — nervous people almost always do, often holding it at chest or waist height. Knowing where the speakers are before anyone walks around with a wireless mic prevents most incidents.

How fast should you speak on a DJ microphone?

Deliberately — slower than normal conversation, faster than a formal speech. Nearly everyone speaks too fast when nervous, which garbles the words and sounds amateurish, but speaking too slowly drags the room’s energy down. Practise at gig volume in a room roughly the size you’ll be working in, since hearing yourself through a PA is completely different from hearing yourself in your head.

Do club DJs need to use a microphone?

Less than mobile and event DJs, where it’s a core part of the job. Many club and festival DJs rarely touch one. But for weddings, corporate events and private parties the ability to speak clearly to a room is worth more commercially than most mixing skills, and it’s a common reason DJs do or don’t get rebooked. If you want that work, it isn’t optional.

About the Author

NaJade is a Bangkok-based DJ playing progressive house, melodic EDM, pop, and Thai music across clubs, rooftops, and weddings in Thailand. He teaches beatmatching and mixing to beginners both in person in Bangkok and online over Zoom. When he’s not behind the decks, he’s documenting the journey on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

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