Understanding the Auctioneer's Chant
Purpose of the Chant Thus, for each specific lot to be expeditiously offered, it is imperative for the auctioneer to chant only the barest amount of information to sell an item: bid prices, ask prices, and filler words. Auctioneers attend special schools and, in some states, serve in apprenticeships for a prescribed period to learn how to chant. Deconstructing the Chant Thus, an auctioneer could say something like the following: “I’m bid 5, who’ll pay 10?” In this case, the current high bidder has already made an offer to the auctioneer to buy a lot for 5, possibly dollars, and the auctioneer is “shopping around” by asking for a higher bid – the ask price – from a new bidder. For example, he may further add, “10, 10, Who’ll Give 10? 10 dollars?” This process is repeated iteratively until no newer and higher bids can be obtained. All About Filler Words No Two Chants Are Identical When performed by an experienced auctioneer, one often hears the chant described as a melodious song or yodel. Regardless of how the chant is presented by an experienced auctioneer, all auction attendees know the current bid amount (bid price) and how much it will take to offer a higher bid (ask price). Filler words are used to pace the delivery and spacing between bid prices and ask prices. Listen For The Numbers! After listening to a specific auctioneer's chant for a few moments, allow your ear to adjust to his specific style and you will soon understand what is happening. If after a few lot sales you are not able to discern the numbers, you are most likely listening to a self-taught auctioneer. All professionally trained and certified auctioneers are taught to clearly announce the numbers. It is the most important part of bid calling, as it is important that bidders know how much they are bidding for a lot. In addition, the art of clearly calling out bid and ask prices ensures that the auctioneer's clients receive fair market value for their goods and services. You now know enough to bid with confidence at any auction! Most novices keep bidding, sometimes against themselves, to ensure that they will have the winning bid even though they are not sure how much they are bidding! Have fun and listen for the numbers!What is he Saying?
The auctioneer’s chant or bid calling style of soliciting bids is perhaps the most confusing and perplexing aspect of a live public auction for a neophyte bidder. The novice, upon his arrival to a sale, experiences a flurry of confusing but interrelated and coordinated activities: sees eager bidders vying for the attention of the bid caller, notices several auction company employees fervently polling and motioning towards the crowd, and hears the sounds of a most unusual sequence of words coming from the lips of the attending auctioneer. It appears that everyone else understands the auctioneer and is reacting to his chant. 
The auctioneer’s chant has only one purpose - to facilitate and encourage bidding on an item or lot in an effort to sell it in a very short period of time. It is not uncommon for several hundred individual lots to be presented for sale at an auction.
An auctioneer’s chant is not very difficult for a novice to comprehend when the basics of bid calling are understood. A bid call consists of three distinct parts: the bid price, the ask price, and filler words. The bid price is the current amount that has been offered by a bidder for the lot being sold. In contrast, the ask price is the bid amount, higher than the current bid price, currently being sought by the auctioneer from any new potential bidders.
Filler words are any words or sounds that the auctioneer says that are not bid prices and ask prices. In the aforementioned example, the two phrases (i.e. “I’m bid” and “Who’ll pay”) are all comprised of filler words. Filler words serve only one purpose – to distinctively identify and separate the bid price from the ask price in the auctioneer’s chant. There are no rules or standards for filler words; anything can be used. Further examples of “common” filler words include the following: dollar, now, bid, and buy.
Auctioneer chants or bid calling styles are distinct, no two are identical. Differences arise from several sources: formal training, bid calling experience, geographical and regional differences, and individual style. Some auctioneers chant very fast - relatively speaking in a monotone manner and others use varying speeds of vocal delivery and pitches in tone.
The way to best understand what is being communicated by an auctioneer’s chant is to listen for the numbers. Everything else you hear, although it may be entertaining and sometimes engaging, is superfluous. The most important parts of the chant are the bid prices and the ask prices!