I have come, in the last few months, to be absolutely amazed at the number of people who are incompetent when it comes to using a microphone. In fact, I’m often amazed at the number of people who are incompetent generally. It’s really rather annoying. Now I don’t mean to be rude; I suppose that in a large city like Washington, DC, you’re bound to run into some idiots.
But back to microphone handling. The following story is only one of many similar experiences I’ve had, each one as bewildering as the last. The Prince George’s County Department of Social Services held their annual meeting this morning, and had rented the community college’s theatre space (where I work) for that purpose. I was assigned to running the light board, which I was happy with – it’s nice and quiet in the light booth, and I can read a book during the down times. Frank was on the sound board, which consisted of fading in and out the house music and controlling the volume of the microphones. The S.S. Dept. had 4 panelists they had brought in, so we sat them at the tables on stage and gave them 2 wireless microphones on little stands. We had tested the volume of each beforehand, and Frank was on standby to adjust as needed. What could go wrong?
The first lady took one of the microphones and put it as far across the table from herself as she could, and began speaking. The audience yelled “We can’t hear you”. Instead of pulling the microphone closer slowly until she found the right distance, the woman grabbed the microphone and set it on the very edge of the table in front of her and practically ate the microphone as she said loudly, “Can you hear me?” Not surprisingly, the sudden increase of volume was a very unpleasant experience (for all of us) and the woman jumped back as if she’d been bitten. Her expression said, “Wha…? What happened? What was that?” Incredible. The thing is, she’s not the only one to have done something like that. I think that anyone who wants to rent our auditorium and bring people to speak should be required to put their speakers through microphone training.
Really though, it’s not that difficult.
