When I visit with some organizations about their auction fundraiser, they insist that their charity auction crowd is unusually loud.
“Sherry, we can’t ever get them to pay attention,” one will say, “Our crowd likes to party.”
Pardon the expression, but I’ll respond in a common phrase my Dad uses: “No shit, Sherlock.”
Your guests view a charity auction as a party.
Good parties tend to be loud. For your guests, charity auctions are celebratory events. A portion of them may see it as a date night away from the kids. Others came to pay tribute to your honoree. Someone else wants to tease a community leader in a public roast. Another auction guest sees it as a chance to catch up with friends.
But you likely see your auction as a fundraiser.
Fundraising may be high on your list of priorities, but it might not even be on your guests’ radar screen. Your guests are there to have fun, and we want them to have fun. But we don’t want them out of control.
The point is to plan for the volume. If you really want to reduce the sound, you will likely have to shift your event style into a format that gives you more control.
Here are four auction tips to plan for the noise.
1. Invest in the proper sound system.
If we assume that 20% of the crowd is bidding in the live auction, the other 80% of the audience are chatting with friends. The sound system needs to cut over the din of the audience and allow the benefit auctioneer to be heard.
Guests won’t bid or follow directions if they can’t hear.
Re-read that last sentence. It’s really, really important.
2. A dynamic auctioneer
For God’s sake, put someone on stage who has some personality. Your charity auctioneer should not simply be “calling the numbers.” He needs to develop some rapport. Maybe show some humor.
If your auctioneer has poor rapport, the crowd will get louder and louder and louder as they try to be heard over the sound system. Add alcohol, and it doesn’t get better.
A good benefit auctioneer doesn’t care if people are talking, but she also has a threshold for when to bring reign people back in. And if she has a good sound system (see Point #1), she can engage the interested bidders.
3. Stick to the timeline
Guests will be less likely to pay attention when the schedule spirals out of control. They’ll start talking to their friends, “What time do you have?” they’ll ask, “Weren’t we supposed to be eating by now?”
Keep the program short. Stay on task. When it’s time to start, start. If the Board Chair has 3 minutes to speak, ensure he speaks for three minutes.
4. Changing the layout changes the experience
The loudest charity auctions I conduct are when guests are standing around the venue, cocktail style. The quietest auctions I work are those in which the guests are seated theater-style, with everyone facing forward in rows.
If you are concerned about the sound level, change your layout (and possibly event format) into one that offers you more control.
You might start by getting people seated in assigned areas, or shift to a dinner format so the auction can take place over the meal service. Or maybe your reception-style event transitions at 8 PM into a formal program, and all guests file into the school theater where the rest of the evening’s events take place.
So what do you think will help your auction the most? What will most improve the experience?
Report back to me so I know what made the biggest difference for you.
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