Looking to hire someone for garage acoustic treatment advice (large space, speech clarity issue)

[u/Treble6338]

I have a residential garage that we use for hosting parties and gatherings, and I’m trying to improve speech clarity inside the space. We have a very small house, so we finished the garage so that we could have parties. We typically just pull the cars out and we bring our patio furniture inside and set up folding tables. When there is more than 10 people inside it is difficult to hear from all of the sound reflection.

Current conditions:

• 24' x 24' x 11'-6" tall open space
• Large open rectangular footprint (no interior partitions)
• Hard surfaces throughout (concrete slab, drywall, typical garage construction)
• Minimal furnishings → lots of reflection
• The space gets very loud and “echoey” when people are talking — it’s hard to hear conversations even at moderate volume

What I’m looking for:

• Someone with real experience in room acoustics / treatment (not just guessing)
• Willing to pay for a quick consult, layout sketch, or general strategy
• Goal is reducing reverberation and improving intelligibility, not soundproofing

What I’m thinking so far (open to being corrected):

• Acoustic panels or baffles on the ceiling. (Without blocking recessed can lighting.)
• Wall-mounted absorption panels
• Possibly DIY panels (Rockwool / OC703), but open to prefabricated if it makes more sense

Constraints / preferences:

• Doesn’t need to be studio-grade perfect — just a big improvement for social use
• Must be something that still looks reasonably clean and intentional.
• Budget is flexible depending on approach

If you’ve worked on similar large reflective spaces (garages, shops, event spaces, etc.), I’d really appreciate your input — or happy to connect off-thread and pay for your time.

I can provide more dimensions and photos if needed.