There is no question that you want your guests to have fun at your fundraising event. But be careful not to let that fun get too out of control! A rowdy room makes it difficult for you to properly move your night along. You may find yourself behind in many of your fundraising activities. Constantly trying to control a disruptive crowd will inevitably slow down your event.
You will also find that a lot of your guests will become disgruntled and disconnected when a room becomes too rowdy. That’s because the rowdiness often stems from a small group of people (usually just one or two loud tables).
With this said, we have some valuable tips to help control a room that is on its way out of control. Remember, everyone can still have fun without being disruptive to the entire room. These tips below will help you achieve this goal.
1) Utilize lighting effects
If you have the budget for this, have a lighting/audio technician dim the lights in the room (except for the person speaking on stage).
People are less likely to chat when the room is dim or dark except for the person on stage. This is a small line item on your budget that will go a long way to helping you control the noise levels at your event.
2) Hire an experienced MC
If a table gets too rowdy, your event’s MC is usually the best person in the room to shut it down. Remember, it’s an MC’s job to be in the mindset of hospitality and fun-control. Their job is to get people to listen! Sometimes, they will put out a well-placed joke. Something like, “Hey table 15! The show is up here!” Or maybe, “The generous folks at table 15 are going to take us all out to the nearest bar after this is finished up and the tab is on them.” Often times, if the MC puts a spotlight on the rowdy table, that will get the group to quiet down. The MC may even interview the table, getting the names of everyone at the table and asking them to each give their attention to the upcoming speakers. If these jokes aren’t hitting home with these individuals, the MC will need to be direct by asking them to quiet down so that the event can carry on without disruptions.
3) Be direct and ask the disruptive guests to leave---THE LAST RESORT!
If things get really out of hand, you may need to ask your rowdy guests to leave. Wait until a speaker is up on stage and then approach the table discreetly to remind them that they are disrupting the room. If they do not quiet down after this warning, you will need to escort them out of the event. If your event location has security on site, you may request their assistance. This situation only occurs in very rare instances (usually when heavy drinking is involved). It’s best to remove the person (or persons) so that their behavior does not negatively affect all of your guests for the remainder of the event. It may feel a bit awkward to do this, but your other guests will certainly appreciate it.
If you are looking for more tips to help rein in the rowdiness of your event, we at AmFund are here to help. Reach out to us and our experienced team of Development Directors can help you with this topic and so many more to help ensure that your next fundraising event is a success!
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