Almost every event has a series of speakers who make their way to the podium pull out a crumpled sheet of paper and “make a speech.” Some are dynamic presenters and some…not so much. Sometimes the flow of the evening is determined by these people, instead of the other way around. And what your speakers say is critical to the success of the evening.

At an event last year three people - a CEO, a board member, and a celebrity - got up before the auction and proceeded to hammer out a message of “the economy sucks…..we’re all broke….we need to tighten our belts, etc. etc.” As I stood off to the side of the stage, I could feel the energy in the room drain and actually saw people put their paddles on the floor. I do not suggest that anybody pretend that things are peachy keen, but there’s no need for three consecutive speakers to take the wind out of anybody’s philanthropic sail.  A message of needed support and acknowledgment of difficult times can both be addressed.

Along with content, length is also a concern. One painfully long thankyou speech by an honoree at a large event in San Francisco actually delayed the evening by 30 minutes! The following year the organization video-taped the acceptance speech for that year’s recipient. Then they projected it on the large screens and let the honoree come up on stage, get the award, say thank you and return to his seat.

It’s obviously a tricky matter when it comes to editing or controlling people’s speeches. But your guests will appreciate it if you take the time to offer your speakers a well placed word about brevity when discussing their speeches.  Everyone’s goal should be for the audience to still have plenty of energy and enthusiasm left by the time the auction starts to keep those paddles waving.

Earlier this year at an East Bay Auction an interesting thing happened.  The event included about three hundred people at a beautiful Country Club.  Everybody was enthusiastic and came ready to spend and support and enjoy the evening.

After doing my  normal “can everybody hear me clearly” announcement, I felt confident that everybody could. So I started the 43 lot auction and paddles were going up everywhere. The lot descriptions and numbers were being projected on a large screen behind me and and bids were coming from every corner of the room.

Then, about halfway through the auction the laptop sending the PowerPoint slides to the projector failed and the large screen behind me went black. Oddly enough, people started telling the spotters that they couldn’t hear me! The only thing that had changed was the screen going black.  The sound was exactly as it was for the first twenty lots, no levels were changed, no microphones replaced, nothing changed except… the big black screen,  and now they couldn’t hear me.

So what caused this sudden loss of hearing?  Their eyes!  Having the lot numbers displayed near the stage gives your audience a chance to “track” where the auction is. When a lot that is of interest gets close, the interested parties can stop their socializing and get ready to bid.  Most people have already perused the catalog and know which lots they are going to bid on.  But when you take away their visual reference system, they need to “hear” when a lot of interest is coming up.

“Which lot are we on” and “I wanted to bid on that” is not something you want to hear from the crowd.

I have never had the feed to a projector go out in the past and hopefully will never have one go out again in the future.  I do however, wonder if one of those large pads and a Magic Marker tucked away behind the stage is a ”sound” investment.

Due to current budgeting considerations more events are turning to the “buffet line” to cut costs.  Some events are even using scattered food stations and high boy tables.  Both are seemingly cost effective, but raise timing and technical issues.

First, the “grazing” method.  Guests roam freely from food station to food station and then search for some space on those small high-boy’s or stand in a group and practice their juggling skills.  Your invited guests will be carrying a drink, a plate and hopefully their program and bidder paddle. “Tasty food, wonderful wine…hey, where’s my program?”  The best fix for this is open table seating so at least they can sit, eat and bid!

Buffets on the other hand usually come with assigned tables.  Which helps if you choose to call the tables up to the buffet by number, as opposed to opening the buffet and standing back! The big issue with buffets are, the first people through the line are done with their dinner but those at the end are still holding empty plates.  Those who have finished will only sit so long before their up and roaming around again which means you have to sit them down again before you can start the program.

So what do you do?  You start the program when the majority of your guests are through the line.  If any of the folks in line are interested in one of the first lots then they will either bid from the line (it’s true) or send their significant other back to the table to join in the bidding.  It may seem a little curt for those in line, but for the majority who are done and waiting around it will be greatly appreciated.

And here’s a little technique that made a difference for a 500 person buffet.  I had the silent auction tables set so they paralleled the buffet lines.  “Boy, am I hungry….ooohhh a dine around town package!”

So if you’re going to go the buffet route think about where your people are going to make camp. Take into consideration the only money you’re saving on a buffet is the cost of the wait staff.  Which could in the long run be costing you bids!