Going, going, gone: an auctioneer’s worst nightmare

Leave a reply

What could be worse for an auctioneer that having lost their voice on auction day? Probably not much!

As a voice coach, I cringe when I see an auctioneer yelling across the street to potential buyers as cars drive past, trams ding down the main street and there’s not a microphone in sight.

The demands on an auctioneer’s voice and speech are huge in these situations. Not only must they be heard but they must be able to be understood. This means that there speech must be clear and articulate despite all the distractions and background noise. Finally, they must also engage their audience and keep them interested in the process. Not an easy task.

I have worked with both novice and experienced auctioneers. We have worked together on ensuring they get that loud voice but also ensure they look after their voices.  Here are some key tips for auctioneers:

  1. Breathe from the belly – rather than taking short sharp breaths which ultimately puts strain on your throat, take breaths deep into your belly. This way you’ll be able to project for longer and the strain won’t be felt in your throat
  2. Have periods of voice rest – if you know you have a big day of auctions coming up, rest your voice the night before and after your auction make sure you also have some quiet time
  3. Drink plenty of water – keeping your vocal tract moist and yourself hydrated is essential during these high voice use periods
  4. Warm up – Before your first auction for a day warm up your voice by humming and doing some breathing and pitch exercises
  5. Finish your words – When there is a lot of background noise and we have to maintain a high volume and speak quite fast, often we drop off the ends of our words e.g. the ‘-ed’ or ‘-ing’. With all the distractions at an auction, this can make it difficult for the audience to understand what has been said and if they can’t understand, they’ll switch off and not engage.

To learn more about looking after your voice and making the most of your voice, why not attend a few voice coaching sessions? Contact naanki@vocalchord.com.au for more information.

Leave a comment