Show notes:
This week on the podcast, I am joined by wedding DJ, MC and speaker Chris Binns to talk about why public speaking is such an important skill for every wedding professional — not just DJs and hosts.
From speaking confidently on social media to holding the energy in a room on a wedding day, Chris shares how improving your communication skills can completely transform your business, confidence and client experience. Chris opens up about his journey from construction project management into weddings, how he built confidence behind the microphone, and the mistakes and lessons that shaped his career. Together, we discussed authenticity, networking, social media confidence, stage presence, and why so many wedding pros are holding themselves back by being afraid to show up online.
Time stamps:
00:21 – Introduction to Wedding Business Marketing
02:02 – The Journey of a DJ: From Bedroom to Weddings
18:23 – The Importance of Authenticity in Performance
24:52 – Navigating Authenticity in Marketing
29:50 – The Importance of Data in Marketing Decisions
51:10 – Understanding MC Energy Types
54:40 – Identifying Your MC Style and Authenticity
Transcript:
Chris
00:00:00.480 – 00:00:21.520
And if you’re a dj, you’re a speaker, you need to be consistent with that. Always, always find somewhere where you can practice your craft just little by little.
And what you’ll find is that really helps you deliver above the level that you know you would typically get if you’re just doing it by yourself.
Becca
00:00:21.520 – 00:01:28.580
I’m Becca Poutney, wedding business marketing expert, strategist, speaker and author.
Over the last decade, I’ve combined my love of marketing with my knowledge of the wedding industry to help thousands, thousands of wedding pros and venues just like you learn new skills, strategize, get re energized and grow their businesses. Because after all, that’s how you stay top of your game. Whether you’re brand new into this industry or been here forever, I want to help.
So grab a cup of tea or a cocktail, sit back and enjoy a brand new episode of my award winning podcast, Wedding Pros who Are Ready to Grow. Let’s get going with today’s episode. Today I’m chatting with Chris Bins, Also known as DJ Chris Anthony. Chris is a wedding DJ and MC.
With over 25 years of holding rooms and having worked at more than 300 weddings, he’s definitely not shy behind the mic. I recently met Chris when he was working as the MC at the Pro Mobile conference where I was delivering the opening keynote.
I absolutely loved his energy on stage and I knew I needed to get him on the podcast. I cannot wait to find out more about his journey. Chris, welcome to the podcast.
Chris
00:01:28.900 – 00:01:30.660
Becca, it’s a pleasure to be here.
Becca
00:01:30.660 – 00:01:40.340
It’s an absolute pleasure to have you. Now, just before we started recording, you told me this is your first ever podcast interview.
And I said to you, you’re going right in at the top on the award winning podcast.
Chris
00:01:40.740 – 00:01:44.500
Indeed. Yeah, absolutely. Only the best. Only the best.
Becca
00:01:45.140 – 00:02:00.530
Well, I have no doubt that this is going to be a great interview because I’ve seen you on stage and I always say when I see someone and I think, yeah, I like their energy, I know they’re going to be a great guest. So I am thrilled that you agreed to, to come on this for your first ever podcast interview. So thank you so much.
Chris
00:02:00.610 – 00:02:02.530
You’re very welcome. You’re very welcome.
Becca
00:02:02.610 – 00:02:18.210
Now, before we get into what you’re doing right now, I always like to take my listeners on a journey into your past to find out a bit more about what got you to this stage. So take me back, give us a whistle stop tour through your career, before weddings and before DJing.
Chris
00:02:18.290 – 00:04:43.980
So I started off as your typical bedroom DJ, loved music, loved Michael Jackson, all of the soul tracks. That, that’s kind of my era. And my first opportunity to DJ was a workshop that I did.
And after the workshop they wanted to have a kind of gathering of all the members and so they needed a dj. I thought maybe this is my opportunity, so I went for it. I was nervous as hell, but it went down a storm. It was such a great experience.
And from that moment I haven’t looked back. And what I did was I did weddings for friends at first, just kind of little sets that I could do just so that I could build up my confidence.
And I’ve taken it all the way through now to me doing all day weddings, being a wedding host and a dj, and it’s been quite a trajectory. There have been some ups and downs, but I’ve always had a love of holding a room, of just really feeling the energy in the room.
And that’s kind of the place that I come from, holding the energy in the room and really making it so that people have fun. They feel the energy that just the connection. That’s what I’m all about. I’m a. I’m a very feeling, kind of authentic kind of feeling person.
And that’s what I kind of put into my weddings and my DJing itself. So I went into weddings and I’ve done, as you said, over 300 weddings now. And what I found was I loved being on the microphone.
There was just something about holding a mic and talking to people. And I realized that if I spoke from the heart, especially at weddings, I could really make a difference to how people feel.
Weddings are really kind of loving, romantic, fun occasions. And I felt I could have an impact by being on the mic and emceeing.
And so that love of emceeing has grown as my wedding career has gone along and as we’ll probably go into. I’ll explain why I’m doing more event emcee.
Becca
00:04:44.380 – 00:05:13.720
Fantastic.
So going back then, when you were doing bedroom DJing, as you called it, right at the start of your journey, because I think often people see the end result, they see where you are now, they see you on the stage and they think, wow, how did he get there? So at the beginning you said you were bedroom DJing, you did this first event. Was this alongside a corporate career? Were you in your own business?
Were you working for someone else? And how has that kind of worked? Has the DJing already always been on the side? Has it been full time? Give us a bit of history.
Chris
00:05:14.120 – 00:07:23.050
Love that, love that question.
So I have a corporate career as a, I started off as a carpenter and joiner, then I went into building surveying, then project construction, construction project management. So I, I have, you know, over 30 years of being in construction project management. Alongside that as my side hustle was my DJing.
And you know, I, you know, I would literally, I’ve worked almost six days a week for decades, work in the daytime as my corporate role, project manager. At nighttime I’m this woo woo DJ playing on the decks, playing all the music. And I’ve just had so much energy and love for that.
You know, I would come home tired. But I’ve got, right, okay, I’ve got someone’s wedding, so I’ve got to prepare for that. So that’s kind of been my trajectory.
You know, building a DJ career is quite challenging. Doing it full time is really challenging, you’re probably aware of that.
And so most DJs, they do DJing as a side hustle and if they get good at it and if they really love it, then they’ll transition. And that’s kind of what I’ve been doing lately. But I kind of want to go back to the start of why I love music.
And you know, I’m very kind of fond of this story because I started playing records. So you know, 7 inch records and I know probably most of your audience, you know, can’t remember seven inches, but my seven inch records.
But my dad had seven inch records stacked on top of the gramophone that he had. And at the age of four, I would take these records off and stack them on the radiogram and I would play them one by one.
So that is my age 4, I was playing tunes on a record player and it’s just gone on from there. And you know, my dad, he loved blue beat and reggae and ska, all of that. So that’s where my love was for music and DJing came from.
Becca
00:07:23.050 – 00:08:04.780
So, so it was always in there, that creative spark.
But I think it’s really important that we talk about these things because people look from the outside and they think, oh, he’s a full time dj or how are they being a full time dj? How are they making the money?
And actually sometimes there’s a lot of people in this industry that are doing it alongside a career, whether that’s alongside of a full time job, a part time job, or alongside being a parent, as a lot of people are doing as well, which is also another full time job. And so I think it’s important that we understand that People are coming at it from different places and there’s no one size fits all. All.
In terms of the overlap, do you think there were things from your day job that helped you in your business, or do you think your business was an outlet, a creative outlet away from the corporate world?
Chris
00:08:05.420 – 00:10:17.960
No, listen, with weddings, they’re very struck. Well, they’re very structured in terms of what needs to happen when. And definitely my project management and corporate background helped with that.
Because I’m very much an organized person. I always like to know exactly what I’m going to do, exactly what time.
And so I build everything around the schedule and I make sure that when I’m working on a wedding, I put together a schedule that is boom, boom, boom. I know exactly what’s happening when it’s so important. And if I haven’t got that, then I feel off key and I don’t feel comfortable.
And having a project management career, you had to be structured. You have to know time, deadlines, limits, all manner of things. You have to know what’s going to happen at what time.
And so I kind of brought those skills into my wedding DJing. But, you know, being in the corporate world, obviously it’s very stressful. There’s deadlines and everything else.
And I just felt that this move away into something completely different.
Although it’s got some complementary skills in organizing, just coming away from it, being at someone’s wedding, standing in the middle of the room and just looking around and feeling like, wow, I’ve got an opportunity here to just make this the most memorable day for a couple. And I’m so kind of grateful and honored for that, for the. The opportunity to do that.
So I do not take it for granted that someone has trusted me with their. The most, you know, the most important day of their lives in many cases.
And so, yeah, that mixture of the corporate and doing my side hustle has kind of got me to where I’m now doing something that I truly love and I’m really passionate about. And, you know, the fact that I’d done a conference, I met you, and now I’m on a podcast. This is. This is it. The best podcast in the land. Wow.
Becca
00:10:18.840 – 00:11:46.270
Absolutely. And I always say that you never know where the next thing’s leading. I think often people are ashamed of their other career.
They feel like they have to just be this one wedding business owner. And actually, I think other careers, other side hustles bring so much color. That’s what makes someone an individual.
And I love that you’re basically seeing each of your weddings as their own little project that you have to project, manage, because that’s. That’s what you know.
And I. I think that in everything I do, the things I learned in my career in television, in radio, in marketing, of course, it all inform the things that I do now. And it’s not something that we should.
I always say, if you’re someone who’s listening to this podcast and you still have a job, don’t see that as a failing. See that as a learning experience.
What can you take from your day job that you can bring into your wedding business to excel in your wedding business right here, right now? Stop thinking, oh, I wish I didn’t have this day job. Switch that mindset and think. You know, they might be paying for you to go on training.
They might be introducing you to all sorts of different people. What. What elements of that can you use as your superpower in your day job rather than seeing it as a bad thing?
Now, you mentioned the pleasure it is to work at a wedding. It’s the biggest day of many people’s lives.
And I always like to talk to people if they remember the first wedding they got booked for, because I think the first wedding or one of those first weddings is actually the hardest wedding for any wedding pro to do because they feel that pressure immensely. They know how important it is to get it right, and no one wants to do their first one.
So can you remember any of those early weddings and how you felt?
Chris
00:11:46.670 – 00:14:02.440
Oh, man. So, yes, I do. I had. So I, you know, I very fond of reggae music, Caribbean music, soca, and obviously I like soul jazz.
And so I started out doing black weddings. And black weddings are very much about the music, getting the music exactly right. If you get it wrong, you lose your floor. And. Oh, man.
The first wedding was. It was okay.
It was okay, but it was like a baptism of fire because, you know, we really want to have a good time, and the tunes have got a drop at the right time. And so I think with every. With every dj, you kind of got to go through that process of learning how to build a dance floor.
And the first few are gonna be okay. They’re not gonna be fantastic, and you kind of gotta live with it. But the pressure. Oh, my gosh.
The pressure of seeing if people are gonna dance to this. Is the next song gonna clear the dance floor? Are they gonna stay on it? And it was a kind of mixture, really. But you as a.
As a performer, as an entertainer. Yeah, it’s such a great question, because you have to Start somewhere.
And I guess I didn’t start out on the, you know, with a whole, you know, a full day wedding or something like that. I started off with the smaller ones that were not so formal and were kind of more family. So that’s how I kind of built up my experience.
But believe me, the first all day wedding I had to do, I mean, I had some good mentors. So getting mentors is a really big thing. And you’ll know Terry Lewis. Terry Lewis, he’s a fantastic wedding dj, one of the best in the country.
And I was fortunate enough to be introduced to him, get some mentoring, and so he definitely helped me on my all day wedding journey.
Becca
00:14:02.440 – 00:14:38.950
So, yeah, that’s, yeah, that’s a great tip as well. Find someone who’s walked that path before you that can tell you some of the things. That’s why I love networking. I love conferences.
I love you getting in the room with other people. Don’t see other DJs as someone to avoid. See them as people that you can learn from because they will know the things that you don’t yet know.
So talking about some of those things then.
I also love to hear about mistakes people made because this podcast isn’t about pretending everyone’s business is perfect and that we’ve been on this perfect business journey. We’ve all made mistakes.
So as you look back over your dj, your wedding industry career, are there any things that you think, yeah, I did that I shouldn’t have done, that.
Chris
00:14:39.190 – 00:17:24.580
I should have done actually this good? No, no, no. I, I think, I think it is a great question.
And there is that thing around DJ work where you do not want to admit that maybe you made a mistake with your mixing or you’ve cleared a dance floor. And I’ve done that plenty of times.
But if I can be honest with you, there was a wedding a few years ago where it was after the winter break and, you know, with the winter, there’s not much going on. And so I came back to a wedding and I’ve been preparing it.
I had done my schedule as I usually do, but when you’re coming back from the winter break for your first few weddings, you’re a bit rusty. It’s just like you’ve got, where do the cables go? What cable goes into that kind of socket? And you kind of like that.
And so I had a wedding where I was going to.
I was doing the grand entrance, I was introducing the couple into the room, and so I had my microphone and as I was about to announce them in the microphone failed. Oh, my gosh. What was going. And it was cutting out, and it just. Basically, the grand entrance, it flopped. It was dead.
It just wasn’t how I wanted it to be. And I realized that I hadn’t connected the antennas into the back of the receiver. And from that moment, it threw me. I tried to overcompensate.
I tried to be funny, and it didn’t land. I tried to kind of capture the energy back, and it just didn’t work. And so the learning for me from that is that you kind of got to have a backup.
You’ve got to be able to, you know, recognize when things are going wrong, take a step back, relax, and just think, right, okay, that’s that part. That. And now let’s just get into gear and move forward with the schedule. But on that occasion, I just wasn’t prepared.
And so the rest of the wedding didn’t go as well as I wanted it, too, that my energy had dropped. I was trying to rescue, and it wasn’t working.
And so, yeah, that’s kind of the moment I realized that no matter how experienced you are, stuff can happen. Things and technology. You’ve probably been on a stage, the mic has stopped working or something like that. But on this occasion, it threw me. And.
Yeah, but not. Not a proud moment, but it’s definitely been a learning moment. I’ve learned so much from that experience.
Becca
00:17:25.620 – 00:17:55.050
Yeah. And it probably won’t happen again because you’ve learned from it once, and if it does, you’ll know how to deal with it better.
I think the really interesting thing as well that came out of that is that idea of overcompensating, because I think we do that a lot in the wedding industry. People in the wedding industry tend to be people pleasers.
We tend to be people that we want everyone to like because we want to be at our best all of the time. And I think that’s a really interesting thing that actually, by trying to overcompensate, it actually made the experience worse, not better.
And I think that is a trap people fall into quite easily.
Chris
00:17:55.530 – 00:19:07.250
Absolutely. It’s. It’s kind of recognizing you need to be really present with yourself. And on that day, I was.
I wasn’t present, and I was out there trying to impress, trying to make things better. Yeah, it just flopped. So this. And this kind of comes back to the authenticity thing.
Being authentic as someone who’s up on stage, who’s in front of people, is so important now. People are craving authenticity. You see it all across the Internet. YouTube, ETC.
People just don’t want, you know, people spouting what they’ve done or what they’ve achieved. They want to feel something now.
And that’s kind of the trajectory that I’m, you know, heading in, in terms of being someone on stage that can be really authentic and true. And a lot of the stories I’m telling now are not even about my business as such. It’s about me. I want people to get to know me, to. To trust me in a.
And the only way I can do that is by being real and honest and authentic. And so, yeah, that’s very much a part of my brand now. Is that authenticity, even if it’s uncomfortable?
Becca
00:19:07.810 – 00:20:25.180
Yes, and it definitely is uncomfortable, but it’s definitely what’s needed. And that’s why on this podcast, as we’ve done so far, I always want to hear the real story behind the story, because it’s easy for us to present.
We go to conferences, we see people on stage talk about their amazing businesses and how they’ve made all this money. But actually, people are less willing often to talk about the reality.
And actually it’s the reality that people need to hear, not only to feel better about themselves, but to realize they need to stop comparing themselves to this Instagram version of people and actually start realizing those people are just as broken as them. And yes, they found ways around things and they’ve found ways through things, but there is no kind of perfect model. None of us are perfect.
We’ve all made mistakes. And actually the people love seeing authentic you. People actually like sometimes when you make a mistake because they see, they see that it’s real.
It’s how you then deal with that in the moment, professionally, that is what’s going to make the difference. Let’s take it the other way then. Let’s not talk about mistakes. Let’s talk about things that have worked really well for you.
So if there’s a new person listening who’s up and coming in our industry, I think it’s interesting to hear the things that you think moved the needle the most in your business.
So again, looking back over your wedding industry career, are there things that you did and you think, I’m really glad I did that, that really impacted my business in a good way.
Chris
00:20:25.580 – 00:24:06.580
Yeah, I think going back to. I think it’s important. Going back to the mentoring thing, it’s very easy as being a dj, a wedding dj, it can be a really lonely job.
And so reaching out to other professionals, going to web pros, going to pro mobile, Conference is so important. I mean, at Pro Mobile, I met people that I’ve known for years, but I also met new people as well.
And meeting Jack, Christian, Ewan Lawrence, yourself just kind of reinvigorated me. And it’s so important to keep in touch with people in the industry because you get out of your bubble, because it’s so easy to sit in your bubble.
You’re looking at this screen of Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn and you can go.
You kind of can go down a dark hole and you need to break out of that and network and just connect with other groups, not through the screen, actually in person. And me doing the mentoring, me being at conferences, you know, has been such an important part of my career.
And so that’s one thing I super, super would highly, highly recommend that anybody does in the wedding industry. And I know in, in the DJ industry, we kind of struggle getting DJs to come together because they feel like they’re with the competition.
But what you find is that when DJs are together, they share ideas, they, you know, they give you different perspectives on things that we did it, we did. At the Pro Mobile conference, Ewan gave. He was the last. Ewan Lawrence gave the last presentation of the weekend.
But honestly, there were gems in what he was telling everybody. And believe me, I just realized, I thought, wow, it’s so important to just connect, get in front of people, talking to people, face to face.
Yeah, that’s definitely one thing that I would highlight. Highly recommend, I think, as well. I mean, as a speaker. I mean, I do Toastmasters.
I don’t know if you heard of Toastmasters internationally, probably have yet. And so it’s really important to be doing something to enhance your skill on a regular basis.
So I’m obviously, I’m on the mic in front of an audience at weddings all the time, but I never forget the classroom.
You must always be in the classroom, because if you’re just out there doing your thing, you’re not learning new ideas, you’re not kind of improving your craft by being evaluated. Because when you go to Toastmasters, you’re evaluated all the time. You know, that’s part of the Toastmasters process.
And that’s why I go every week without fail, every Wednesday morning, 7:30, get there earlier to set up, but I’m there, being on stage, talking, speaking to an audience. And if you’re a dj, you’re a speaker, you need to be consistent with that.
Always, always find somewhere where you can practice your craft, just little by little. And what you’ll find is that really helps you deliver above the level that, you know, you would typically get if you’re just doing it by yourself.
So, yeah, those are. Those are two things I think would help.
Becca
00:24:06.580 – 00:25:03.390
Yeah, it’s so true. And I think we can get complacent, and if we get complacent, that’s always dangerous in any kind of business because the world’s evolving.
There’s new people coming into the industry all of the time. And so whatever aspect of the industry you’re in, both your craft and the kind of business side of those things, you’ve got to stay on top of it.
Education is so, so important, and that comes in many forms. It comes through mentoring, it comes through conferences, it comes through podcasts, it comes through YouTube videos.
You know, I listen to so many podcasts all of the time from smart marketing people because I want to make sure that my marketing knowledge. I don’t get complacent because it’s changing all of the time. And so if you.
Again, if you’re listening to this and you’re thinking, yeah, I’m not focusing on that enough, let us encourage you to find an avenue, whatever that avenue is, to make sure you’re staying on top of both your craft and the business side of your business.
What about marketing then, Chris, in terms of getting out there in front of couples, wedding couples, if you look back over the last couple of years, where have those inquiries come from? What’s been your most powerful, powerful marketing channel?
Chris
00:25:03.790 – 00:28:40.180
So I use Instagram as one of my marketing channels, and I also use Hitched as well. And I know some people like hits, some people don’t like Hitched. It’s just one of those things. So it’s a combination, really.
But if I’m honest, marketing is still something that, you know, I’m growing to kind of get used to and do well. You know, I’ll be honest with you. For some reason, promoting myself on social media has been such a struggle for me. I’ll be totally honest.
It’s not something that I kind of warmed to right away. I’m kind of, you know, I’m one of the. I’m a Gen Xer where, you know, privacy and everything else is just a part of, you know, who I was growing up.
And so I know there are a lot of people out there that struggle with putting themselves in front of camera. I. I know it. I felt it. And so I’m. I’m kind of getting out there now. I’ve got a new camera set up.
I’M setting up a little studio, you know, so that I can start putting my face on camera. And I think this is a good experience for me as well, being my first podcast, so I can look back on this and see, oh, okay, this works.
Maybe that doesn’t. And so, yeah, that’s. In terms of marketing, I think that’s a really important point. Instagram is great. I’ve been using that.
But I think in this new world of needing to show authenticity, your face has to be in front of the camera. It really does. And, you know, but I know for people of my generation, it’s not easy. It’s not easy. So you just need to fight.
There are loads of people online that actually talk about this, you know, tap into them, follow them, and start to get into the habit of holding up that phone, doing a little promo for yourself. And, yeah, and I think that’s kind of the way forward, is static images. They can go to a level.
But getting your front speaking, getting people to know the real you, that’s. That’s the thing to do now. And that’s what I’m kind of moving into a lot.
And just to say as well, that on LinkedIn, I’ve got presence on LinkedIn because that side, I am pushing my event MC, pretty much what I was doing at Promobile. And I haven’t gone in just talking about what I do, I’ve gone in talking about who I am. I want people to see who I am, my story, my backstory.
And I want to talk about things that are important to people as a way of them getting to know what I do. And that’s really important on insta, you know, on a lot of social media, it’s, this is what I do, this is what I do, this is what I do.
But I think people are getting tired of that. It’s more like, this is who I am.
And I want to tell you a story about my journey and how this can, you know, help people understand themselves or connect with who they are. Because that’s where I think we really need to go. We really need to get back to the heart and just into feeling.
Because out there in Internet land is crazy. It’s crazy.
Becca
00:28:41.460 – 00:30:58.710
It is crazy, as I like to call it. It’s the marketing theme. It’s a wild west out there. But actually authenticity is cutting through.
And I think as we go further and this is going to be a theme, I think across 20, 26 and beyond AI, all of that stuff, it’s creating a trust recession. We don’t trust people as much as we used to. We are worried about what we trust.
And in a trust recession, authenticity, storytelling, being yourself, showing up as you, not as a polished filtered version of you, but just, just as you. Who you are is what’s going to cut through that noise. And it’s absolutely true.
I want to come back to the Hitched thing very briefly because you made a throwaway comment and I talk about this a lot actually, because anytime someone says a brand, they say, oh, some people like it, some people don’t. And actually, you know, Hitched is an interesting one. I’ve recently interviewed someone from Hitched here on the podcast.
People can go back and listen to that episode. But I think ultimately as a marketer, the questions I’m asking people is let’s stop making marketing decisions on feelings.
So to me, in many ways, unless it’s a big ethical problem in your heart, it doesn’t matter whether you like a platform or you don’t like a platform. Actually, we need to know if it’s getting you results.
So if you were to come to me, Chris, and many of my one to one clients do, and they say, becca, should I renew my subscription listing on XYZ Directory? I don’t know.
I would always say to them, and I would say this to the people listening and to you, Chris, let’s go in the back end and look at the results. Let’s look at the data, let’s look at the return on investment.
Because if you don’t like something but it’s generating you 50% of your bookings, let’s not cut our nose off to spite our face.
If we don’t like something and then we go in the back end and we realize we’ve spent money and it’s not done anything, that’s a whole nother discussion. So I just wanted to come back to that point because I think it’s a really interesting one and it’s something I come up a lot up against.
A lot that people go, I don’t know what I should do about this because we’re making so many decisions based on how we feel in a moment rather than actually the heart of any kind of sales and marketing is the data. So you may or may not know your data, but that’s what I would say. Go back into your directory listing and just have a look.
Where have people come from? Now that’s not always easy to track, but we will get some stats from it.
Chris
00:30:59.030 – 00:32:37.740
Yeah, no, that’s a good point, Becca, because if you’re there Are some people on that platform just smashing it? You know, they got a ton of reviews, hundreds of reviews, and you can see clearly that they’re getting regular work. And I guess some, I guess it’s.
We want to, we want to pay the money, we want the inquiries to come and we want to land them, and that’s it. You know, when, when you think about it, it’s not quite that simple. And there’s a journey if you’re, if you’re, There’s a journey to it, isn’t there?
You, as you said, you pay your money, you see what comes through, and then you do the analytics. But I think it’s the analytics bit that people don’t want to look at. They just want the bookings coming through.
And so, yeah, there’s definitely something to be said for looking at the back, the back end of everything. And, you know, I’ll admit, I don’t love the back end stuff. When I look at the numbers, I’m thinking, let’s go on to this shiny object here.
Let’s see if. You know. And I guess that’s what a lot of people do is they don’t fully understand the game and that marketing is a skill.
And, you know, unless you really apply yourself to learning that skill, then, yes, you’re kind of in the dark a bit. It. And you know, admittedly, when it comes to some of my marketing, I’m in the dark because looking at analytics and stuff is not the fun bit.
I want to be on the mic, I want to be in front of people I know.
Becca
00:32:37.740 – 00:33:47.550
And you’re not alone, Chris, because this is something that I’m banging a drum about all the time because most people don’t want to look. And I think it’s for one of two reasons.
One, it’s not interesting and like you said, they want the shiny dopamine hit of the like on Instagram, which is great, but we need to look at the other things as well. Or two, they’re scared because they’re worried they’re going to see something they don’t like.
And I think this particularly applies to things that involve finances, money.
Quite often I have to go through quite a difficult process with people when we look at money because people haven’t looked at it because they’re scared of seeing they’re not making any. But ultimately I say to them, yeah, but in order for us to make that better, we need to have a realistic picture of where we’re at at now.
So again, a bit off tangent, but for people listening if you’re resonating with this and you’re thinking, yeah, I’m. I’m the person who likes the shiny object. I don’t like looking at the numbers, I don’t like looking at the data.
Let me encourage you, when you’re in a good headspace, set aside some time and actually go through this stuff. Because once you know the answers, it may not be as bad as you think it is. Often people find it’s not. They’re just scared of looking.
And actually, when we know where we’re at, we can make wiser decisions to go forward.
Chris
00:33:48.030 – 00:35:07.109
If I can just add there, Beck, that was really good. It all starts in here. It all starts in here. And, you know, I’m so much more aware of my emotions and feelings around things.
And if I’m struggling to do one thing, it kind of starts in here, inside you, in your heart. Because, you know, we’ve got all kinds of beliefs and fears that are swirling around.
And what, you know, what I, what I found is that unless you kind of tackle that part of you that is afraid, that is scared of being out there, that doesn’t want to put themselves on camera, unless you deal with that bit inside you, it makes it so much harder doing the other stuff outside. So it kind of. I would say to people listening to this that if you’re struggling with something, something, ask yourself the question, go inside.
And what. What is it about marketing? What is it about being from a camera that I really find difficult?
And that can be a whole nother story, but it’s the one that gets you in front of camera on the best podcast in the land, talking to the wonderful Becca Pound.
Becca
00:35:07.669 – 00:35:50.100
Absolutely. And so true. And I think, yeah, so much of it is in our heart and in our head. And we’re often the biggest barrier to our own success.
And we, we could talk about that all day. But let’s go on to the next section, because I want to talk to you.
I’m going to ask you a couple of questions which I think are going to help you raise the standards for DJs across the country and across the world, because we’re going to have a little moment here to talk about things that we don’t like. And we’d like wedding professionals and venues to change about themselves. So here’s the first question.
As a DJ at an emcee, you’re at a wedding day, you’re on the venue floor all day. Are there any things that you wish other wedding programs understood about how to work better with you?
Chris
00:35:50.980 – 00:38:09.910
Oh, good question. How to work better with me?
I think flexibility, you know, weddings, you’ve got your plan, you want everything to land, but things can go off tangent at any moment. And so I like for other wedding professionals to be flexible.
Now, I, I, you know, when I, when I host a wedding, I really do connect with all of the suppliers during the day beforehand, so that there’s a bit of rapport there and that we can, you know, communicate effectively on the day. And so it typically does and that helps it things run smoothly.
But, but when you’ve got a vendor maybe you haven’t had a connection with and they’re not quite as flexible, they’re quite rigid. Sometimes venues can be quite rigid in how they want to do things.
You’re thinking about the couple and the guests and how things will flow, they’re thinking about the venue, then that can be something that can be jarring and just make things more challenging. So, yeah, flexible wedding professionals that help the day run smoothly, I think are super, super important. And that goes for me as well.
I need to be flexible.
If a photographer doesn’t want laser lights beaming all over the bed or doesn’t want this color in the background, be accommodating, you know, understand that you’ve got a role, they’ve got a role.
And I always take the position that if I can help the photographer get the best shot possible of the couple on the dance floor, then I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen because it looks good for them and it looks good for me.
So I’m never of the kind where, you know, if someone comes up and asks, they want to use my microphone or they want to plug into my system, if it helps the day, I’m going to do that, I’m going to help there. If a band wants to plug in for the speakers, whatever, if it gets the job done and it makes the day special, then I’m all for that. Definitely.
Does that answer the question?
Becca
00:38:09.910 – 00:38:27.110
It absolutely does. Now, I have a sub question to the question because as suppliers, we often talk and complain about ghosting.
Now, you said that you reach out to suppliers, you try and chat to them before the wedding. Do you find that a lot of suppliers ghost you or do most people come back and engage in that conversation?
Chris
00:38:27.830 – 00:40:24.350
The way I do it, I do it well in advance. And if I haven’t, if I haven’t heard from someone, then I’ll, I’ll email them back to try and get.
But occasionally, occasionally you’ll get a supplier like a Photographer or videographer that hasn’t got back to you.
And so what I try to do is make contact as early as possible on the day just to kind of introduce myself because for me building rapport is so important.
It’s super important for the day so that we know each other by first names, that we’ve had a bit of banter and a bit of laughter just so that we can relax together and know that we’ve got each other’s back.
But yeah, there are times where you can get some suppliers that aren’t so that they’re a bit more rigid and so you kind of just gotta work as best you can with them. But if, you know, if you wanna, if I can answer the question.
I think venues, venues can be quite challenging because they’ve got their way of doing things. And so obviously for DJ sound limiters, some DJs hate sound sound limiters. I totally get it, I’ve grown used to them now.
But I think the big thing for me about if there’s things I don’t like is difficult load ins where you have, you know, it’s difficult to bring in heavy equipment because if I’m carrying every equipment, carrying them even up two flights of step can make your job so much harder because you’ve got, you know, 30K, 40, you know, equipment to carry. And so I think I’d love to say to the venues, please make load ins a bit easier. There are a lot of venues that do make it easy. It’s very simple.
Pull up to the door and literally the booth is there. But others, you’ve got lifts to go in, you’ve got stairs to climb. Oh yeah, I just, that, that’s one thing I just ask.
Becca
00:40:25.870 – 00:40:44.730
Well, that kind of touches on my next question, which was what makes a venue a dream to work with? So we know loading is good. What about anything else that makes a venue a dream to work with with? Is it venues that help you bring your stuff in?
Is it venues that feed you? What if there’s a venue listening? How can they make their MC and their DJ happy on a wedding day?
Chris
00:40:45.210 – 00:43:07.140
You know, for me it’s, it’s the friendly friendliness of the team, the ones that are really easy to work with. You know, there are a few that I’ve worked at where you can just, you know, the event manager is just chilled, relaxed, they’ve done this.
Any question that you’ve got for them, they can easily answer. They’re not flustered.
You know, for me that’s probably the most important thing because you can mostly deal with anything else in terms of logistics and setup, et cetera, you can figure out ways around that. But if you’ve got a team that kind of understands you and supports you, then that really is helpful.
Because honestly, particularly West End venues, I find that they’re really hardened to the environment. West End is just like crazy mad. Parking is just impossible. Everything is just impossible.
There have been times where I’ve had to load in all my equipment, laptops, speakers, you name it, into a corridor that’s being accessed by everybody and you’ve got to leave it there whilst you go and park it somewhere else. And just the anxiety that gives you in hoping that when you get there someone hasn’t lifted your laptop bag away, you know.
And so yeah, that I think, think that’s really important to kind of understand is that venues have an important role to play in how you deliver for the day and that being super friendly and helpful really helps.
But I get it, There are some DJs out there that are just not flexible, you know, and I understand why some venues may have a bad feel or a bad look on DJs because if I’m honest, there are some DJs out there that don’t, you know, follow keep the base down and, and don’t finish at the right time type of thing. And I get it, that’s, that’s difficult for venues as well. So we’re all in this together.
Becca
00:43:07.140 – 00:43:51.740
That’s why I say, yeah, we absolutely are. And it is a two way street. We all have to give, we all have to receive, we all have to help.
You know, actually I think the best wedding days are when everyone comes together as a team and realizes is yes, we are individuals with an individual service, but ultimately we are one team creating this best day ever for a couple. So how can we work as a team rather than trying to work against each other.
And to your point, when you turn up and someone’s grumpy with you or rude to you or a bit short with you, actually that makes your job all the harder because you’ve then got to try and get that energy back.
You’ve got to try and go from that feeling of I hope no one’s going to steal my laptop, hope this person isn’t going to be angry with me all evening and get keep bothering me to now I need to be here, show up with a smile on my face and help everyone have a good time. And that’s a challenge.
Chris
00:43:52.060 – 00:44:43.120
I’ve had it, I had it.
I remember a particular Wedding, the wedding planner, you know, they would, they just, I don’t know, they got out the wrong side of the bed and from the off, it was like she was the boss. It was like they were just, you know, ordering everyone and it just was the worst feeling and it made it really hard to perform.
And so, yeah, just, just kind of being in together.
And that’s the reason why I like to make contacts with everyone before the day, because it just kind of, yeah, that connection, it helps with communication on the day, I find. And yeah, I, I, I, I wholeheartedly would say if you’ve got a venue where you’ve got nice staff, friendly staff, the happier the better.
Becca
00:44:44.800 – 00:45:50.480
Absolutely, absolutely.
Now, Chris, before I let you go, I wanted to talk about one other subject with you because we’ve heard throughout this podcast episode that as well as DJing, you’re also an emcee. You are on stages. That’s exactly where we met was, on a stage. And you are very confident on a stage. You’re confident behind a microphone.
You’ve got a great energy, as I said at the beginning. And I think often people look at you, they look at me and they think, I wish I could have that confidence. I wish I could have that stage presence.
And for many people, that is terrifying. The idea of standing in front of people or being on a microphone is hard.
And what we’re seeing right now, as we talked about earlier, is actually even for people who find that hard, they have to now be showing up or their need to be on social media talking to a camera. They may want to come on a podcast, interview, and, and that feels difficult for them, especially if it doesn’t come naturally.
So do you have any tips, any little tricks that you’ve learned over time?
If someone’s listening to this and thinks, yeah, I want to be better at this public speaking thing, even just speaking into my phone on Instagram, that you could encourage them with.
Chris
00:45:50.800 – 00:49:05.469
Absolutely. So first off, I’ve mentioned it already. Join a Toastmasters Club.
There are so many Toastmasters Clubs that you know that there’s definitely one near you. They’re just everywhere.
And being in a Toastmasters Club, firstly, you get to have stage time, you get to prepare speeches, and just as importantly, you’re evaluated.
You will speak for seven minutes, and then someone will be evaluating you and they will come up on stage and talk about what you did well and what you could improve upon.
And I found that over the years, that has helped me so much because every two weeks, or my club is every week, I Get the opportunity to practice that little bit more. Because speaking is that type of thing where you. You can’t just go on a speaking course for, say, two days and you’re the perfect speaker.
It does not work. Absolutely does not work. You have to hone your skills as a speaker little by little by little.
And that means every two weeks, every week, going to a workshop or a meeting for a couple of hours and just being on stage. You could be the timekeeper, you could be the table topics master. Just those little moments really cement the skill.
Now, another really important skill that I would highly recommend people do if you’re a speaker, you’ve got to practice speaking, and you’ve got to have speaking drills. And what I do on the wall behind me, I’ve got permanently there. I’ve got speech exercises that I do almost every morning, and it takes about.
Only takes about 10 minutes. And what you’re doing is you want to stretch your voice and have it sound clean and clear.
And if you practice every day or every other day, just these, you know, six or seven vowel sounds, practicing something like, Or something like G, G, G G G G, G, G ga all these crazy sounds, it sounds crazy. But these little things practiced every day along with tongue twisters.
Stick A4 paper on your wall with the exercises, and every time you get a moment, just practice. And what you end up with is a voice that’s more resonant. It sounds better and amazing.
It gives you so much more confidence when you know your voice, you can project it and you can feel it. So highly, highly recommend Toastmasters. You know, it’s a great community. You make friends. It becomes another part, a fantastic part of your life.
Because you’re in this community now. You’re not on your own and you’re practicing all the time and having drills at home stuck on your wall, you can practice every day.
And then that’s how you develop and become a really good speaker on stage. And, you know, I swear by it. I always do it, and I’ll never stop doing it.
Becca
00:49:05.469 – 00:50:46.340
I’ll always practice, practice, practice, practice. And that’s important in everything we do. And I think often people don’t think about practicing speaking because it’s something we just do every day.
But speaking in conversation and speaking on stage, on camera, on a podcast is a completely different skill. And actually, the more you learn about this stuff, the more you speak, the better.
And for those of you that are scared of showing up on camera, aside from doing the deep work, which we talked about earlier, about why that is actually just do it more.
The more you go live, the more you speak on camera, the more you just get up on a stage, the more you volunteer to stand up and give a speech, the better you will get at it. The less you do it, the more you hold back. You will never be perfect. You know, everyone knows my mantra, done is better than perfect.
Just get it done. Just try.
If I go back and watch or even listen to my first podcast episode or listen to my first ever Facebook Live, or even watch my first ever stage talk, I probably cringe at it. Now, I don’t recommend, I don’t want to go back and look at it, but everyone starts somewhere. It’s taking us full circle from where we started.
You have to start somewhere.
Now, you showed me before we went onto this podcast interview, a really interesting tool and I think it’d be really interesting for people to hear a little bit more about it because.
Because basically what you’re saying in this tool and we’ll get it up on the screen for those watching on YouTube and I’ll put a link for those of you listening is that there’s different kinds of energy, there’s different kinds of ways to speak, there’s different ways of showing up and different people show up on stages differently. So it’s not about everyone has to be this high energy, super performer. There’s different kinds of people.
So, Chris, do you want to share and just very briefly talk us through this graphic and help people who are listening kind of understand what it’s all about?
Chris
00:50:47.700 – 00:50:50.740
Absolutely. So can you see that on the screen?
Becca
00:50:50.820 – 00:50:56.340
I can see that on the screen. Again, if you’re listening, we’ll make sure we put a link so you can grab it or go to YouTube and have a look at it there.
Chris
00:50:56.820 – 00:54:14.310
Fantastic. So this is the MC Energy Index and it’s something I’ve just created because last year I went on a MC course in America.
And you know, the Americans, they’re bold, they’re loud, they’re, you know, they’re just, they’re amazing at what they do.
But the thing is, I felt a disconnect because me being the British gents type of energy, when it comes to me being an mc, I just felt this disconnect and I wanted to find a way of describing this kind of difference between MCs and. I couldn’t find anything online. So I created the MC Energy Index.
And basically what it is, it’s a place where MC to see what type or what natural home on the index where they fit and just to describe it, you’ve got one is the conductor. They have low energy, high formality. You’ve got the warm host, low energy, low formality. You’ve got the entertainer who’s mid energy, mid formality.
Then you’ve got the hyperman. This is going into the American energy, high energy, low formality. And then you’ve got the showman, who’s high energy, high formality.
And this helps MCs decide where they naturally fit. Now, an important part of this is that oftentimes we feel we need to raise the energy in the room.
We need to kind of be the hype man or be the showman. But if you’re naturally a two, which is the warm host, getting up to four or five requires a lot of skill.
And if you’re not proficient in doing that, you begin to feel fake or it just begins to feel like a performance.
So it starts to help you understand where you can go on the heat map so that you don’t end up being in a situation where you’re trying to be the hype man and you’re still being the warm hose, and it just isn’t working. So I’ve got this out there now and I’d love to share it with people.
It helps, not only helps MCs, but it helps customers or clients find out what is the type of MC they want for their event. And I’m hoping to expand this into speaking as well.
I’m looking at other ways of sharing this idea in other forms of speaking, but this is for the MCs, and, you know, it’s just something that people can look at and start to think about in a different way. What is their natural home on the index in terms of the heat map? And for clients, who do I want for my event?
Do I want the hype man to hype everybody up or a couple for their wedding? Do they want the warm home or the entertainer? Do you see what I mean?
So I think this would be really helpful people to actually take a look at and just kind of see, you know, what kind of MC style they are and who they want for their event.
Becca
00:54:14.390 – 00:55:07.300
And I think as well, if you’re listening to this, you think, well, I don’t want to be an mc. I don’t want to be on stage.
I would highly recommend looking at this even for your social media content, because again, going back to that art of comparison, if you identify, identify yourself on this map and you think, right, I identify as the warm host. I have low energy, low formality, but you’re watching people and learning from people who are creating Instagram reels, who are the Hype man.
And you’re trying to emulate that. It’s just not going to work.
So actually, once you identify where on this map you fit, I would then encourage you to try and then find people who match that energy, who are putting out content and learn from them and look at their style rather than thinking, well, I need to be this kind of person on the Internet. But you’re not. You’re not that person. And then it comes across as inauthentic. And again, that goes full circle.
Chris, I’d love to know, where do you put yourself on the map? Because I’ve been looking at it and thinking, I wonder where I put myself. Where would you put yourself?
Chris
00:55:08.180 – 00:55:41.120
Okay, good question. Good question. When I did this, I didn’t know where I was. And when I did it, I thought, I’m between a 2 and a 3. Warm host and entertainer.
That’s my natural host home.
I have tried going to Hype man, and I can do it for kind of small occasion or just a moment, but I cannot sit comfortably there because I’ve tried sitting comfortably and the energy is gone. So between warm host and entertainer, that’s where I naturally fit.
Becca
00:55:41.120 – 00:56:18.790
Love it. And I think I probably sit somewhere between entertainer and showman. When I look at it, I think that’s probably where I sit.
Definitely the theatrical background in me, energy, high energy is definitely me somewhere. But I think I can also do that moving between emotional moments and comedic ones quite well.
So I think my natural fit is probably somewhere between entertainer and showman. And I think actually not all stages want that level of energy. Actually, you know, I always say I’ve got a Becker energy. I call it a Becker energy.
I’m like, if you want the Becker energy, I can bring it. If you don’t, that’s absolutely fine. Go, go. Yeah, no, go work with someone else.
Chris
00:56:20.150 – 00:56:51.760
No, I love that you’ve said that, Becca, because, you know, I’m looking at this from the MC perspective, but this can apply to so many different areas of people who need to go in front of an audience and perform and. And to, you know, you know, talk about what they. They want to talk about.
And so, yeah, that, that, you know, so that’s really interesting, the fact that you’re between a three and a five, because, you know, I kind of entertain it. Definitely three and a four. But, yeah, I would have put you there, but a five’s a show woman.
Becca
00:56:52.400 – 00:57:48.300
Yeah. When pro’s life Chris, I danced down the aisle to enter the Spice Girls in a pink sparkly dress and I did an outfit change.
So I feel like show woman has to come in there somewhere.
But, you know, I think there’s a lot of people in our industry and a lot of speakers who have a musical theatre background and I think that comes through. I think the theater kid in me definitely shines through. I think it’s a really helpful tool. Thank you for sharing it.
As I said, if you’re listening to this and you wish you could see it, we’ll put a link or you can go and grab it in the show notes or if you go over to YouTube, find this episode, you’ll be able to skip to this part and look at it. But I think it’s an interesting exercise.
Whatever you do, whether or not you want to be on stage or you just want to show up on social media, just go and identify, do a bit of self reflection. Where do you sit? There’s no right or wrong. We’re not saying a one is bad and a five is great.
We’re just saying where do you fit and where are you going to be the most authentic? Chris, what’s next for you? What are you working on right now?
Chris
00:57:48.460 – 00:59:10.220
Well, well, well, what am I working on? So I, I touched upon earlier about my MC career.
I, I’m really loving the idea of being an emcee at big events and so that’s kind of the direction I’m heading into. I’m still going to, to be things.
I love my wedding, I’m so passionate about weddings, but I definitely love being on a stage for two, three is just holding the energy, you know, vibe with the audience, presenting and just meeting wonderful people. As I said, look, this is where the journey has taken me. It’s taking me onto this podcast and, you know, I want more of that.
So I’m over on LinkedIn a lot. I’m telling my story about who I am, what I. And yeah, that’s.
I’ve got a couple of events that are coming up, which hopefully I’ve got one coming up that’s moving into the AI are really. So that’s kind of a bit outside the wedding industry, but that’s where mc, the role of MC can take you.
And if I can, you know, be doing something like that, fantastic. Going into other areas. So, yeah, that’s kind of the, the, the project, the, the, the future for me. I also give me ideas. Mega. You’re giving me ideas.
Becca
00:59:10.780 – 00:59:19.340
So final question, because I always ask this at the end of every past podcast episode. I do. What’s one thing you personally wish you’d known sooner in your own business?
Chris
00:59:20.300 – 00:59:54.800
I think I have to go back to the social media bit. I’ve been really slow in the take up of being out there on social media. I haven’t used their it as. As well as I could have.
And so I’d highly recommend that people get to understand social media and what your natural way of communicating on social media is. But I’d done that early, I would have been out there more and I think it would have been better for my career. So that’s the key thing for me anyway.
Becca
00:59:54.960 – 01:00:08.460
Absolutely love it. Chris, it’s been such a pleasure. I knew it was going to be a great conversation. It hasn’t disappointed. It’s been a great conversation.
If people want to find you. You said you on LinkedIn, people want to reach out, ask questions. You open to building new relationships?
Chris
01:00:08.940 – 01:00:37.010
Absolutely, yeah.
Anybody wants to get in touch, you know, I’m starting a little project where I’ll be helping hosts and MCs, you know, build their energy, be, you know, presence, build presence on stage, helping, you know, people just to kind of build their speaking abilities. And so if people want to kind of get involved with that, then they can find me@chrisbins.uk Fantastic.
Becca
01:00:37.010 – 01:00:41.850
And we’ll put all the links in the show notes. Chris, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you so much for being a great guest.
Chris
01:00:42.250 – 01:00:44.410
Thank you very much. Becca, it’s been a pleasure.
Becca
01:00:44.730 – 01:01:06.290
What a great conversation. I knew Chris was going to be a great guest. He’s got so much to share with us.
I hope you enjoyed all that he had to share about the authenticity, about the journey he’s been on and about how he’s built confidence on stage and how he’s encouraging you to do that too. Enjoy the episode. If you do need that graphic, go grab it in the show notes and I’ll see you all next time.
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