It is a big challenge for any fundraiser when one person decides to take over an event and make it all about them. It shifts the focus of a gala, has the potential to derail the fundraising and could end up costing the event significantly.
There are no easy solutions for what to do once someone is already onstage, rambling on about their product, personal pet peeves, or other random tidbits. But there are a number of steps you can take in advance of your event to try and prevent any sort of auction takeover.
Set Clear Expectations
Tell each speaker how long they have for their speech before they start writing it. As a general rule, very few speeches need to be longer than three to five minutes.
Review All Scripts
It is reasonable to ask speakers to prepare for their time onstage by writing up their remarks in advance. It is also reasonable to ask to see that script in advance. If someone’s script is too long, or off-message, seeing it beforehand gives you the opportunity to discuss that with them while there is still time to make edits and adjustments. There is little time to course-correct the night-of your event.
Designate a Stage Manager
Someone needs to be able to play the “bad cop” if need be, but it is also useful to have someone who is in charge of getting speakers on (and possibly off) the stage. From a show-flow standpoint, it is a waste of the audience’s time if the emcee introduces the next speaker, and that speaker is still seated at their table. Then the whole crowd has to wait while the speaker gets up to make their way through the tables to the stage.
Don’t let one of your speakers hijack your auction, have a plan in place to prevent podium piracy
Far better is to have a stage manager who ensures every speaker is at the stage, ready to go on when they are introduced, and encourage them to leave the stage if they speak for too long.
Have a Plan in Place
What do you do if a speaker goes on too long? Or launches in to an inappropriate tirade? How do you handle the worst-case scenario? At what point do you turn off a speaker’s microphone? (We’ve seen it happen!)
Create a plan and empower your stage manager to implement it. Hopefully none of those worst-case scenarios come to pass. But if you don’t have a plan in place, you’ll be scrambling to figure out what to do, instead of reacting immediately and decisively.
