Latest news with #auctioneer
Fast Company
11 hours ago
- General
- Fast Company
3 simple steps to overcome self-doubt at work
BY Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 3:39 I've spent over two decades on stages around the world as a charity auctioneer. Even in the earliest years of my career, my job exposed me to titans of industry and people at the highest levels of business. But as I became more experienced in my career, I always had the same thought: W hat am I doing here? Everyone here knows so much more than I do. Any comments or thoughts I planned to share remained exactly that—thoughts—because when I opened my mouth, I worried everyone would remember I wasn't supposed to be at the table in the first place. What started as a feeling that stopped me from speaking followed me in my career. That feeling stopped me from putting my hand up for a promotion, a raise, or for anything at all. It made me feel like I wasn't supposed to be sitting in the boardroom—or anywhere near the building, for that matter. Talk to any woman who has been in the working world or in a leadership position in the past two decades, and she can tell you all about imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is a feeling that stops many of us, particularly women, in our tracks. It keeps many of us from getting into the room where we would have the chance to fail. As you ascend the corporate ladder, no matter how deserving you are of a new title, a raise, or a new position, you may never truly believe you deserve any of it. When you look around a room of your peers, there's a little voice inside telling you that you're lucky to be in that room. Sound familiar? It's time to surmount the syndrome. Start with this simple three-step process so you can focus on the thing that matters most: you. 1. STOP THE SPIRAL Tell me if this sounds familiar: You're having a conversation with someone in your life—a friend, someone senior in your office, or someone whose opinion you care deeply about. They mention they are so glad that they get to see you now that your children are getting older and you can be in the office more. The comment stops you cold. Now you're spiraling, your mind filling in a narrative. I've been out of the game for years. Everyone here thinks I don't work hard enough, that I'm not here enough, that I don't do a good job. I need to show them I do care. I'll start working on the weekends, do extra work. . . On and on you go with a spiral of self-doubt and insecurity about everything that you have ever felt about your job performance. What did this person actually say? 'It's great to see you in the office more now that your children are getting older.' Period. Your answer? 'Thanks!' End scene. 2. CONTROL THE NARRATIVE Believe in yourself enough to believe that other people are thinking the best of you, not the worst. To really slam that imposter syndrome, rewrite your own story. Let's go back and rewrite that scene, shall we? What did that person say? 'It's great to see you in the office more now that your children are getting older.' Here's what I want you to hear: 'You are such a valuable member of this team, it's really great to have your positive energy in this office. You must be an incredible multitasker to be raising kids at home and crushing it at work, too. What a role model for the people around you. We are lucky to have you.' End scene. Cue applause. 3. ACCEPT THERE ARE NO GOLD STARS IN LIFE Never forget there are no gold stars given out when you are an adult. No one gives you a gold star for showing up to work, just like no one gives you a gold star for making your bed when you get up in the morning. You are responsible for everything that happens in your life and your response to it. Once you stop looking for affirmation from those around you and seek it from yourself, you can realize you have had the power all along. The super-early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is this Friday, July 25, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lydia Fenet is the founder and CEO of the Lydia Fenet Agency, a boutique agency representing best-in-class charity auctioneers. Lydia's first book, The Most Powerful Woman in the Room is You, is currently being developed by Hulu into a TV series for which she will serve as executive producer. More
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Real estate auction coach sends the internet into meltdown with his instructional video on how body language can connect with bidders
A bizarre video from a property auctioneer in which he instructs real estate agents on the best body language techniques to get higher bids has sent the internet into a spin. Brent Ilicic, a coach who has conducted more than 5,000 property auctions, this month shared the how-to clip in which he showed what appears to be series of dance moves to explain how footwork and hand position play a huge role in his job. The video caused a buzz on social media with many viewers questioning if the clip was 'for real'. Mr Ilicic this week told Daily Mail Australia he is indeed serious and that his 13 years experience as a successful auctioneer gave him unique insights. In the educational video, Mr Ilicic ran through a mock auction and how he would establish rapport with those bidding on a property. 'Body language plays a huge part in this: footwork, legs, chest, arms, eyes, smile,' he explained. Of particular import is having 'palms to the ceiling' and facing a person who bids while leaning in their direction, which he then demonstrates by fielding multiple bids from different imaginary buyers in quick succession. 'A couple of rapid fire bids coming from the right and to the left. Boom. Boom. Boom. It's like a bit of a dance. Flowing left to right and through the middle.' Mr Ilicic, who runs his own masterclass course, said the video was intended to help prospective auctioneers tackle one of the biggest hurdles they face. 'I coach beginners and what they struggle with is how to move their body,' he told Daily Mail Australia. The clip divided viewers with many finding the unusual promotional video 'hilarious' and 'informative' while others mocked the technique. 'Cringey, but don't hate the player hate the game. I mean salespeople use all sorts of techniques … weird as it looks, it might actually work for him,' one said. 'This is a joke right? Right?' another said. One viewer declared on Instagram: 'I just started yelling bids at my phone, this is incredible stuff.' 'Who needs Raygun when we have talent like that?' one said, referring to viral Olympic break-dancer Rachael Gunn. One particularly unimpressed viewer mused that 'real estate agents must be the least self aware people alive'. Mr Ilicic said he was 'surprisingly comfortable' with the negative responses as he's also received overwhelming positive feedback from existing and prospective clients. 'I've had a lot of people follow me and inquire about the training from that video,' he said. He also broke down why the video might look a little strange to some people. 'I don't just coach, I'm doing [auctioneering] every week as well in front of a crowd and in the training video I've slowed down and amplified what I do for coaching purposes.' 'I've got a few techniques that I use to help get [my clients'] bodies moving in different ways in the training room so I can see what works for them. 'I wouldn't coach unless I knew how to coach and I wouldn't coach if I hadn't done it successfully myself.' 'The proof is in the pudding – I've conducted a lot of auctions successfully for many years.'
CBC
03-07-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Calgary Stampede announcer's career turns 40: 'Might as well do another 40'
It was August 1983 at the Hand Hills Lake Stampede and Les McIntyre had just fallen out of his chuckwagon. As he remembers it, McIntyre had made a sharp turn, hit a competitor's wagon and tumbled to the ground at no less than 40 kilometres an hour. When he hit the ground, another wagon following behind hit him, knocking McIntyre out cold and resulting in a career-ending back injury before the age of 30. He spent the next week in a Calgary hospital bed. "That was the end of that party," says McIntyre, now 71. He'd dreamt as a child to one day compete in the chucks at the Calgary Stampede. Two years later, just as he was preparing to begin schooling to become an auctioneer, he was asked if he'd be able to call the upcoming chuckwagon races in Trochu, Alta. "I lied through my teeth and said, 'Oh yeah, you bet.' I'd never called one in my life." So began a career calling rodeos and chuckwagon races across Alberta, and eventually at the Calgary Stampede — a career that reaches the 40-year milestone this summer. "I fell out of a wagon and fell into announcing," says McIntyre, reflecting on his career-ending injury. "Looking back, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me." 17th year calling the Stampede McIntyre's voice will flood the speakers at GMC Stadium this year for every chuckwagon race at the Calgary Stampede, which begins Friday. It will be his 17th year calling the Stampede after taking up the mantle from legendary Stampede announcer Joe Carbury in 2008. In doing so, the lifelong resident of Vulcan, Alta., and longtime auctioneer will continue a four-decade-long streak in which he's never missed a job, whether it's for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth or an early spring race in northern Alberta. Early in his career, he would call more than 120 chuckwagon races and rodeos per summer, a number that has dropped to about 80 annually. One of his first lapses came just a few weeks ago when he slept through a morning production meeting in Medicine Hat, Alta. "I missed my first production meeting in 40 years, but I've never missed a performance," he says. McIntyre credits his longevity to a few key principles. He's never been a smoker and rarely drinks alcohol and coffee, to keep his vocal cords healthy. As for his natural ability to call such a fast-paced sport, McIntyre says his success is partly owed to his background in auctioneering. He grew up on a cattle farm and frequently delivered livestock to the High River auction market and Calgary stockyards, where he first witnessed auctioneers at work. He got into the business himself in 1986 after going to auction school in Billings, Mont., and was a livestock auctioneer until 2001. The career gifted him with the ability to think and speak fast, he says. "If you never sell anything in your life, I always say the best public speaking and public relations course would be to go to auction school ... They take the shyness out of you." Every rodeo he calls is slightly different from the other. At the Calgary Stampede, he says, most spectators know little about the sport, so he often provides a brief commentary on the sport's history. "[Spectators] think, 'What on earth are these coconuts doing out there?"' He's also more keen in Calgary to explain to spectators what happens when a horse gets injured, or those horses' backgrounds prior to chuckwagon racing. He describes the circuit as "the largest horse rescue society" in Western Canada, as most chuck breeds are retired from horse racing. "I guarantee you that we can get a horse into the hospital and treat it a lot quicker than you can get a human being into the hospital today," he says. Explaining the sport isn't a problem at rural rodeos around Alberta such as the Ponoka Stampede, the final prelude to the Calgary Stampede that happens the week before in central Alberta, he says. "It's not as much explaining in Ponoka," he says. McIntyre says he has slowed down his life in small ways. He's trimmed his workload in recent years by handing off the early afternoon rodeo job to young announcers. But he believes there's no reason his vocal cords can't last as long as his brain. He credits his wife, Kelly, with keeping him in shape and eating healthy. And when asked if he plans to quit any time soon, he gives a flat answer: no.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Calgary Stampede announcer's career turns 40: 'Might as well do another 40'
PONOKA, ALBERTA — It was August 1983 at the Hand Hills Lake Stampede and Les McIntyre had just fallen out of his chuckwagon. As he remembers it, McIntyre had made a sharp turn, hit a competitor's wagon and tumbled to the ground at no less than 40 kilometres an hour. When he hit the ground, another wagon following behind hit him, knocking McIntyre out cold and resulting in a career-ending back injury before the age of 30. He spent the next week in a Calgary hospital bed. "That was the end of that party," says McIntyre, now 71. He'd dreamt as a child to one day compete in the chucks at the Calgary Stampede. Two years later, just as he was preparing to begin schooling to become an auctioneer, he was asked if he'd be able to call the upcoming chuckwagon races in Trochu, Alta. "I lied through my teeth and said, 'Oh yeah, you bet.' I'd never called one in my life." So began a career calling rodeos and chuckwagon races across Alberta, and eventually at the Calgary Stampede -- a career that reaches the 40-year milestone this summer. "I fell out of a wagon and fell into announcing," says McIntyre, reflecting on his career-ending injury. "Looking back, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me." McIntyre's voice will flood the speakers at GMC Stadium this year for every chuckwagon race at the Calgary Stampede, which begins Friday. It will be his 17th year calling the Stampede after taking up the mantle from legendary Stampede announcer Joe Carberry in 2008. In doing so, the lifelong resident of Vulcan, Alta., and longtime auctioneer will continue a four-decade-long streak in which he's never missed a job, whether it's for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth or an early spring race in northern Alberta. Early in his career, he would call more than 120 chuckwagon races and rodeos per summer, a number that has dropped to about 80 annually. One of his first lapses came just a few weeks ago when he slept through a morning production meeting in Medicine Hat, Alta. "I missed my first production meeting in 40 years, but I've never missed a performance," he says. McIntyre credits his longevity to a few key principles. He's never been a smoker and rarely drinks alcohol and coffee, to keep his vocal cords healthy. As for his natural ability to call such a fast-paced sport, McIntyre says his success is partly owed to his background in auctioneering. He grew up on a cattle farm and frequently delivered livestock to the High River auction market and Calgary stockyards, where he first witnessed auctioneers at work. He got into the business himself in 1986 after going to auction school in Billings, Mont., and was a livestock auctioneer until 2001. The career gifted him with the ability to think and speak fast, he says. "If you never sell anything in your life, I always say the best public speaking and public relations course would be to go to auction school ... They take the shyness out of you." Every rodeo he calls is slightly different from the other. At the Calgary Stampede, he says, most spectators know little about the sport, so he often provides a brief commentary on the sport's history. "(Spectators) think, 'What on earth are these coconuts doing out there?'" He's also more keen in Calgary to explain to spectators what happens when a horse gets injured, or those horses' backgrounds prior to chuckwagon racing. He describes the circuit as "the largest horse rescue society" in Western Canada, as most chuck breeds are retired from horse racing. "I guarantee you that we can get a horse into the hospital and treat it a lot quicker than you can get a human being into the hospital today," he says. Explaining the sport isn't a problem at rural rodeos around Alberta such as the Ponoka Stampede, the final prelude to the Calgary Stampede that happens the week before in central Alberta, he says. "It's not as much explaining in Ponoka," he says. McIntyre says he has slowed down his life in small ways. He's trimmed his workload in recent years by handing off the early afternoon rodeo job to young announcers. But he believes there's no reason his vocal cords can't last as long as his brain. He credits his wife, Kelly, with keeping him in shape and eating healthy. And when asked if he plans to quit any time soon, he gives a flat answer: no. "I think 40 is a good number. Might as well do another 40." This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2025. Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press
Washington Post
27-06-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
The 13th Amendment: Sold for $12 million
NEW YORK — A crowd, most of them employees with ID badges around their necks, gathered in the back of the room of Sotheby's for the last two items of Thursday's morning auction. They weren't there to see icy jewels or buzzy art being sold to the cocktail crowd. This was history. Important history. 'The 13th Amendment,' the auctioneer announced. 'Signed by Abraham Lincoln and the majority of senators and congressmen who supported this landmark legislation abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude within the United States.' The bidding opened at $8 million. It was preceded by bidding on a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, also signed by Lincoln. This was a highlight of Book Week at Sotheby's. Nerd paradise. It's the kind of thing that draws a small crowd of brainy lookie-loos with canvas totes and book dealers in tweed and seersucker to see and maybe bid on first edition Shakespeares, Galileos, Cervantes, Darwin and Adam Smith. And on Americana. This wasn't a swank auction with mysterious bidders, champagne and women in fabulous hats. Most of the bidding happened online or over the phones, with staff on risers flanking the auctioneer's podium. The auction was divided into two parts. Those participating in person raised paddles to place their bids. The only paddle that kept going up was #939, held by a man in a buzz cut, black sneakers, work-from-home clothes and a Nike Air backpack. He dropped around $800,000. 'We got the Darwin, Josephus, Audubon aaaand the Galileo,' said Callum Hill, 27, a cataloger for Peter Harrington, antiquarian book sellers from London. Landmark moments in human history were dispatched across the globe to anonymous sellers. 'The first of two Shakespeare folios,' the auctioneer announced. 'We have $95,000.' 'Bidder on the phone with $100,000.' 'Sold.' On to Portugal in 1519: Vasco da Gama's citation from the King of Portugal for his discoveries complete with a royal wax seal. The bidding went up to $120,000. 'Anything further from online? Or the phones? Otherwise, fair warning. $120,000,' the auctioneer said. 'Sold.' Finally, the premium items came up: Lots 26 and 27. There was James Monroe's letter authorizing the $2 million down payment on the Louisiana Purchase. Previously unknown to Monroe scholars, the four-page letter written in August 1803 was a hedge against Napoleon reneging on the deal. It was a basically handshake deal until Congress moved to ratify it. 'It ought not to be suspected that we are trifling with the Go[vernmen]t of France, or gaining time by an idle correspondence,' Monroe wrote, offering up all the cash that was at his disposal while he was posted in London. The letter sold for $127,000. Also up was the 1774 document establishing the Continental Association, which called for a trade ban between America and Great Britain. Some scholars argue that the Articles of Association document, an agreement among all the colonies to refuse trade relations with England, is the original founding document, merely a precursor to the Declaration of Independence. 'For many Americans the decision to accept the recommendations of Congress and endorse the Continental Association proved to be the point of no return,' historian David Ammerman wrote in his 1974 book, 'In the common cause: American response to the Coercive acts of 1774.' The browned broadside with fold marks is 'one of the most important documents of American colonial history,' Ammerman said. It sold for just over $1 million. Sotheby's is protecting the identity of the buyers who dropped millions on those documents, which are seismically important to United States history. Sotheby's had an unusual offering — both the signed Emancipation Proclamation and the resulting 13th Amendment, signed by Congress on Jan. 31, 1865. 'I never in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper,' Lincoln said after signing the Emancipation Proclamation into law on Jan. 1, 1863. The proclamation that Sotheby's auctioned on Thursday was part of a Civil War fundraiser. One of Lincoln's favorite charities in D.C. was the United States Sanitary Commission, established in June 1861 to assist sick and wounded Union soldiers and their dependent families. It ran on contributions, and Lincoln often donated an autograph to sell at one of their fundraising fairs. For the 1864 Grand Fair, Lincoln signed dozens of the proclamations, and they sold for $10 each, according to Sotheby's. 'One of 27 surviving copies,' the auctioneer said. Eighteen of them are in collections at institutions. The auction opened at $2 million, then quickly went to to $3 million. The rivals were a mystery bidder and a woman in a burgundy dress with a paddle. Then it went to $3.5 million. 'A bidder at 3.6. And the room bidder is out,' the auctioneer said. The 13th Amendment came up. Bidding opened at $8 million. Back and forth, until it got to $12 million. 'It's $12 million on the phone,' the auctioneer said. 'Anyone watching online?' 'Here in the room?' 'It's on the phone. And will sell,' he said, scanning the room one last time. No movement. No paddles. 'At $12 million.' Polite applause. 'This one was special,' a Sotheby's employee said as she left. Lincoln signed an unknown number of commemorative copies of the Emancipation Proclamation. Historians know of 15 bearing Lincoln's signature, Sotheby's said, and more than a dozen additional exist that are signed by members of Congress, but not Lincoln. There is an empty space for his signature. He never lived to see it ratified.
