Not only is it Election Day, it’s National Tongue Twister Day.
When I first got into radio I actually practiced a lot of tongue twisters so I could work on my delivery.
“Are you aluminuming, ’em, ma’am? No, I’m copper-bottoming ’em, my man,” was one.
You know who else does that?
Auctioneers.
And they talk way faster than most of us radio types do.
Practicing tongue twisters is seriously a part of many auctioneer training programs, of which there are quite a few of those in the U.S.
Many states require professional auctioneers to get trained and obtain a license before they can start working auctions.
A big part of the training is just giving your voice and mouth a lot of practice saying the stuff that auctioneers say, like the numbers in bids.
There are actually techniques to speed up your delivery, to say those words faster, and also techniques to learn what are called “filler words,” which keep the auctioneer’s patter going even there aren’t any new bids.
Their eyes are working as fast as their mouths; while there are bid spotters in many auctions to help spot those who are putting up money, the auctioneer is also scanning the room for bidders, and ideally encouraging more people to participate.
Trainers say body language can be just as important as eye contact and speaking voice.
Auctioneers are the focus of the room; it’s a kind of performance, and movement is part of that performance.
These days some also have to keep an eye on remote bids – by web, or Zoom, or phone – as well as in person bids.
The techniques are often the same no matter what’s up for bid, but many auctioneers have specialties.
Dome study cars, or jewelry, or livestock, or rare books.
That knowledge can help get bidders interested in bidding too.
And that’s the ultimate goal: the more bidders, the higher the bids, and the higher the bids, the higher the commission.
Today in 1889, Montana became a state.
One place that sure sounds like it’s worth a visit is the Ringing Rocks.
The rock formation is put together in just such a way that if you lightly tap them with a hammer, you can hear a chime.
But don’t take any of the rocks with you, they won’t work if you do.
What it takes to be an art auctioneer at the largest auction house in the world (Insider)
Auctioneer Practice Drills & Exercises (Western College of Auctioneering)
Ringing Rocks Point of Interest (Visit MT)
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