Last Sunday was the 59th annual Grammy Awards, where trophies were handed out to the music industry’s performers, songwriters and producers. But even after 59 years of existance, audio issues plagued many of the live performances throughout the evening. Most notably, British singer Adele stopped her tribute to the late George Michael and asked for a redo after some audio trouble. Just last year, Adele toughed through an audio issue during her Grammys performance when I mic fell onto the piano strings. This year, she commented, “I can’t do it again like last year… I can’t mess this up for him.”
Audio problems can cause hiccups in your presentation as well as live, primetime broadcasts. The key to preventing them from happening is to be proactive.
Environment:
Are you speaking via Skype or FaceTime? Will there be people dialed in on a conference call? Will you be presenting in front of a huge crowd or a small group? The set up for your presentation space can help or hinder your audio equipment. When you know where and who you will be presenting for, look over these options for what mics work best in each space. If you are presenting in the form of a podcast or webinar, here’s our pick for the best mic for that environment: Ethos3 Tech Review: Yeti USB Microphone by Blue Microphones
Preparation:
If you are using a microphone to deliver your presentation, you should check the signal strength in and around the area you will be speaking. You should also do mic checks for any feedback you may get in the space from other equipment. And bringing additional microphones is not a bad idea either.
Our Recommendations:
Sennheiser Speechline Digital Wireless Microphone
Shure BLX2/PG58 Handheld Transmitter with PG58 Microphone, J10
Carllte Pop Voice Lavalier Lapel Microphone Clip-on Omnidirectional Condenser Mic
GoSpeak! Pro Portable Presentation Speaker and Amplification System
You can read more about them here: The Best Microphones for Presentations
Compatibility:
If you are using sound effects or music within your presentation PowerPoint, make sure the audio is compatible with other computers. Or ask ahead of time if it is okay to hook up your laptop instead of using the computer provided. Creating a separate folder to save your audio files in before you add them into your presentation is the best way to resolve any compatibility issues.
Keeping these three components in mind can help you avoid bad audio quality during your presentation and ensure that your message is being heard loud and clear.
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