How to Overcome Stage Fright and Nail Your Next Presentation: Part Three

This is part three in a series. If you missed the earlier ones you can catch up here:

How to Overcome Stage Fright and Nail Your Next Presentation: Part One

How to Overcome Stage Fright and Nail Your Next Presentation: Part Two

Ok, let's jump into this one.

In the previous posts, we've covered such topics as the importance of writing out a complete manuscript of what you'll say, how to internalize your message, the importance of staying hydrated, and more.

In today's post, I want to cover an advanced issue related to public speaking that not many people think about.

Where to put your microphone receiver battery pack

In case you're wondering what I'm referring to, here you go:

First of all, allow me to repeat that you should never use a handheld mic when giving a presentation of any kind. Never. Don't even think about it. Most of us speak with our hands a lot when communicating. This feels natural to us.

When you're doing a presentation of some kind, you need to be as relaxed and as close to a natural state as possible, so use a lapel or face mic. Sometimes you might need to hold a presentation remote when presenting, so if you have a mic in the other hand, you will drastically limit your ability to communicate well. So make sure to always confirm and insist on using a face or lapel mic.

By the way, have you ever wondered why comedians in clubs always use wired microphones? Because when starting off, all you're given is a wired microphone. Someone introduces you, and then they give you that same microphone. Over time, the comedian becomes used to holding something in their hands and they don't want to give it up. That's ok. The point is to use what you've practiced with and what feels natural to you.

So where should you put that microphone receiver pack? My answer might surprise you. Where do most people seem to put it? Most people clip it into their belt on their backside. There is a good reason for putting it here. The idea is that, when you're facing your audience, people will not see it.

But, I'd say this is a big no-no for three reasons.

1. It's hard to replace the battery

Here's what I've seen too many times. The speaker gets up and starts speaking, but there is no sound. The A/V people look at their knobs, but everything seems to be in the right place. It's the battery. At that point, you might be handed a wireless mic. Again, this is really bad because you haven't practiced with a wireless mic. Most people's hands shake a little when they're nervous. And compounded by the fact that you would already feel frazzled by the mic not working, this would probably not be your best presentation.

If they don't hand you a wireless mic, the A/V person closest to you will nervously approach you and seek to give your microphone receiver a fresh battery. But where is your receiver? It's over your backside.

Just think about the visuals for a moment. You're trying to diffuse a tense situation by making light of the scenario, all the while this poor A/V soul is lifting up your suit jacket (if you're wearing one) and frisking around the small of your back.

Weird. Awkward. Nope.

2. It's hard to turn on the power if you forget

Here's the other possible scenario I've seen. You start speaking, but there's no sound. The A/V people look down at their knobs, but everything's in the right place. And, if they're a very professional organization, they put a fresh battery after every presentation.

Pro Tip: Sorry for the interruption, here. If you're on the A/V side of things in any organization, always put in a fresh battery before any new presentation. Period. We have two services in our church. Before every service starts, a new battery goes in.

Ok, back to the story.

No sound is coming from your mic. Everything from the A/V side is perfect. You have a fresh battery. The problem? Someone whispers to you turn on your mic. The mic receiver is off. But because the receiver is behind you, you take a moment to unclip it, bring it close to you, turn the mic back on, and try to clip it back behind you. Good luck with all that.

Don't do this. Please. Just take my word for it.

3. The suit jacket can get caught in the wire

The third reason you should never put the mic receiver behind you is that a suit jacket will sometimes get caught up in the wire and lift up the backside of your suit jacket. This can also happen with sweaters and other pieces of clothing. What ends up happening is that you take the stage and the flap of your jacket is up. This is pretty embarrassing and incredibly distracting for the audience. And the worst part is that you have no idea what's happening.

So where should you put the mic receiver?

If you're wearing a suit, it should go on your belt over the top of your right thigh. Not behind you. Not next to you. But essentially in front of you.

This way, if you need a new battery, you can open your suit jacket and easily reach it. If you're not sure if it's the battery, you can easily look at the light and know the status.

I know a concern that many have is that the receiver pack will be visible over the suit jacket. I wear fitted suit jackets, and the receiver is not visible. But even if you're wearing a really tight suit jacket and it was slightly visible, I do believe that it would still be worth it in order to mitigate the other issues.

Ok. That's it. I think I'll stop there.

You didn't think there was this much to say about where to put a microphone receiver, did you? 😄

So what about you? Have you ever had to deal with microphones when doing a presentation? Do you normally use a handheld or have you normally used a lapel or face mic?

(image by Pixabay]