characteristics of effective Delivery 13.3 275
• Wireless hand-held microphones and lavaliere microphones allow speakers
to move freely. The lavaliere microphone is often clipped to the front of
a shirt or jacket by newspeople and interviewees. It requires no particular
care other than not to thump it or accidentally knock it off.
• The boom microphone is used by makers of movies and TV shows. It hangs
over the heads of the speakers and is remote-controlled, so the speaker need
not be particularly concerned with it.
• The third kind of microphone, and the most common, is the stationary
microphone. This is the type that is most often found attached to a lectern,
sitting on a desk, or standing on the floor. Generally, the stationary microphones
that are used today are multidirectional. You do not have to remain frozen in
front of a stationary mike while delivering your speech. When using a station-
ary microphone, consider the suggestions in the preceding How To box.Personal Appearance
Most people have certain expectations about the way a speaker should look. One
of your audience analysis tasks is to identify what those audience expectations
are. This can be trickier than it might at first seem. Appropriate wardrobe varies
depending on climate, custom, culture, and audience expectations. In addition,
wardrobe styles can quickly become outdated.
Use a Stationary Microphone
• Prepare before your speech. Practice will accustom you to any voice distortion or echo that
might occur so that these sound qualities do not surprise you during your speech. Under ideal
circumstances, you will be able to practice with the same type of microphone you will use
when you speak. Check to make sure that your microphone is indeed multidirectional and can
pick up your voice even if you aren’t speaking directly into it. Figure out where to stand for the
best sound quality and how sensitive the mike is to extraneous noise.
• Test with care. If you must test a microphone, count or ask the audience whether they can
hear you. Tapping or blowing on a microphone produces an irritating noise you should avoid.
• Speak clearly and crisply. Microphones amplify sloppy habits of pronunciation and enuncia-
tion. Be especially careful when articulating such “explosive” sounding consonants as B and P;
they can be overamplified by the microphone and produce a slight popping sound. Similarly,
a microphone can intensify the sibilance of the S sound at the beginning or ending of words
(such as in hiss, sometime, or specials). You might have to articulate these sounds with slightly
less intensity to avoid creating overamplified, distracting noises.
• Make sure your voice is the only sound amplified. Do not tap, pound, or shuffle anything near
the microphone. These noises will be heard by the audience loudly and clearly. If you are using
note cards, quietly slide them aside as you progress through your speech.
• Speak at your normal volume. Some speakers speak more quietly when they have a micro-
phone in front of them, becoming inaudible.How To