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Source: Detroit Free PressDec.儲存 15--David Helmer is a real talker. He does it for a living.He learned this skill from his dad, who learned it with his buddy Lloyd Braun.And now, in the auctioneer world, the name Braun & Helmer is well-known. The company hosts about 100 auctions a year, concentrated in Michigan.David Helmer, 38, of Saline talks about what it's like to talk.QUESTION: How did you get started in the auctioning business? And is that the proper term?ANSWER: It's auctioneer. Professional auctioneer. My father's a Hall of Fame auctioneer. We grew up in the business, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to do it. My brother and sister are older than me, and they decided they did not want to be auctioneers. And I always liked being around my dad, and I didn't mind working hard, so ...Did he used to take you to the auctions when you were a kid?Yeah. We did not really have a lot of choice in that. (Laughs.)Right, right. So what age were you first indoctrinated in this business?Basically (chuckles) from birth. I mean, when I was born, my dad was already a pretty successful auctioneer along with Lloyd Braun. The original thought I had was, "Hey, we can get some really cheap toys at auction," when I was little. I remember there was like a $2 or $5 max. ... It was always different. You're always seeing amazing things.So when did you actually call your first auction?I was 21 years old, 1996. I think we have an audio recording of that, which hopefully will never be played.What about when you're up in front of an audience. What skills do you have to have?A little bit of mind reading. Just a little bit. Definitely, there's a little endurance involved there. You want to keep your steam the whole time. You want to be a little bit funny. But being able to read people is probably the No. 1 thing in front of a crowd.I thought you were going to say being able to talk your head off.Well, you know, I was born talking. So that's one advantage that I have.Do people just talk fast? Is that how you become a good auctioneer?No. In fact, if you look around and you see some of the people on television, they just talk fast. They don't have a good rhythm or roll. What we're doing is, we're taking certain words, shortening them up a little bit, trying to create a little rhythm. But talking fast doesn't do it.It's like a song almost?You know what? I was always told you have to be careful that you're not too singsong. ... People don't want to listen to that for three or four hours.Do迷你倉people ever come up to you and say, "Dude, I can't tell what you're saying?"Once in a while. Our job is to make sure our mouth is open. Make sure we're enunciating. And what we do is pretty repetitive.So, you talk a lot.I talk a lot.Did you get in trouble in school?You know what? I was a good student. My mother would always say every few days, "Honey, could you just -- could you be quiet, for a little bit? You have not stopped talking." When I get on a roll, I can wear somebody out.Comedians who get up on stage sometimes bomb because the audience doesn't react. Do you ever have situations like that?I can say this: We have very few bombs. In fact, I don't even really know what I would say is a bomb. We've had unenthusiastic crowds before, but that's just our job to breathe a little life into the crowd, whether that's through humor or changing what we're doing a little bit.Free beer!Free beer, yeah. (Laughs.) I do a lot of work for nonprofits and charities. ... And once in a while, you'll walk into a crowd that's sort of been pressured to be there. And they're just sitting on their hands. And that's our job: to make 'em bid.Back to the beer, which was a joke but makes me think of a serious question. Is it good to go to an auction later in the evening after people have imbibed a little bit?Hmm. I don't subscribe to that. All our public auctions, which is personal property and real estate, is during the day. But the charity work is always at night. There is a few theories on that. A person who is in charge of their faculties is usually better than one who is not. But I understand what you're referring to, and occasionally, it makes for a loose bidder.Can you tell me what is it about the psyche of someone who hears that fast-speaking, the trilling of your tongue while you're talking, what is it that makes people jump at that?Well, one, it's enjoyable. Two, I mean if you're there for a reason or a purpose ... to buy a tractor or a piece of real estate, people really like the urgency. It's like, this is up, here we go. It's kind of like the Detroit Lions when they're gonna kick off the ball.You talk a lot. Your father probably talks a lot. Is your mom still around?My mom does not talk that much.I was going to ask you if you guys drive her nuts at the dinner table.She enjoys it. But it's hard for her to get a word in edgewise.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at .freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage