A Pub Quiz to Warm Up Your Crowd
There is a strange period at many evening events.
Dinner has finished. The plates have disappeared. Everyone is pleasantly full. The bar is doing reasonable business.
And the DJ is ready to go.
Unfortunately, nobody else is.
Starting the disco immediately after a three-course meal can sometimes feel a little like asking people to compete in the 100 metres immediately after Christmas dinner. Everyone knows dancing will happen eventually – but right now, another glass of wine and a comfortable chair seem considerably more attractive.
So why not fill that gap with a pub quiz?
Alongside my work as a professional DJ, I’ve spent more than 20 years writing and presenting pub quizzes and corporate quiz shows – and combining the two can work brilliantly.
Rather than expecting guests to leap immediately from coffee onto the dancefloor, I’ll host a lively quiz after dinner.
Nothing painfully academic. Nobody needs to revise the chemical elements or memorise the kings and queens of England beforehand.
The idea is to get people laughing, talking and competing.
And once you’ve persuaded a room full of respectable accountants that the table next to them must be destroyed at all costs, the evening has generally come alive.
Particularly Good for Corporate Events
A quiz and DJ package works especially well for corporate parties and company events because you’ve often got several generations in the same room.
Some of the older guests may thoroughly enjoy the quiz but have absolutely no intention of dancing to the latest club tracks later. Meanwhile, younger members of staff might enjoy the quiz before becoming considerably more interested in the dancefloor as the evening progresses.
Nobody is left waiting for their part of the night to begin.
It also gets departments and colleagues mixing, creates a bit of friendly rivalry and provides some shared entertainment without forcing anybody to participate.
Well, apart from Dave in Accounts, who will insist he knows every answer anyway.
It Works at Weddings Too
There’s also a natural place for a wedding quiz.
That gap between the wedding breakfast and the evening reception can occasionally lose momentum, particularly while rooms are being turned around or evening guests are arriving.
A short, entertaining quiz can bridge that gap beautifully.
It could even include a few questions about the happy couple – although I’d recommend checking the answers beforehand if you’d still like them to be married by the First Dance.
One Host, Two Jobs
The biggest advantage is simplicity.
Instead of booking separate entertainment, I can arrive equipped to provide both the quiz show and DJ entertainment. We can tailor the quiz to your guests, choose an appropriate length and then, when the time is right, move naturally into the evening party.
Quiz first. Disco afterwards.
No awkward lull. No empty dancefloor at 7.30pm. And hopefully no questions about obscure 14th-century Belgian monarchs.
If you’re planning a corporate event, Christmas party, wedding or dinner dance and fancy something a little different between the food and the dancing, get in touch.
I can provide the questions, the music and – crucially – somewhere to direct the blame when your table comes last.
