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5 Audio Visual Tips for Great Meetings

Man and two women present at podium on stage wtih screens at conference

The basics AV requirements of any meeting are pretty clear, you need a high quality sound system and display equipment of appropriate quality and size for your venue and audience size. Your AV company should be able to make recommendations for suitable PA systems and display options that meet your budget. Beyond a sound system and projection gear though, what other meeting gear should you consider? If you are put in charge of your next employee meeting, sales event, investor meeting or any other large organization gathering, here are a few tips to consider to make it a memorable and effective event. The following 5 tips don’t necessarily cost a lot of money, but will make a big impact in your meeting effectiveness.Audiences naturally pay more attention and are engaged when they are presented with something important, impressive or entertaining. So, think about “putting on a show”, not just a “holding a meeting” and you will quickly start thinking of elements to put a professional polish on your event.

1. Staging – Basic to Elaborate

The first tip is to put your presenter on a stage. This might seem obvious, but it is commonly overlooked. It does not have to be a large stage. Simply raising up the presenter above ground level makes them easier to see and gives the event a focal point. Even for a one hour meeting in a cafeteria with one presenter, renting a simple 4×4 riser with a podium will be helpful. Rent staging for events and meetings. For a more involved event, an actual stage set may something to consider. Creative seating for panel members, show and tell items, signage or props are a good starting point. Custom designed backdrops are expensive, but simply blocking off the background with an appropriate color pipe and drape creates a great stage.

Outdoor wooden podium on stage outside of buildingMan speaks on stage at indoor conference with screen

2. Choose the Right Podium

Don’t make the beginners mistake of putting an important presenter behind a wreck of a podium. Make sure that the podium provided by your venue or AV company has professional look and feel appropriate for your event. A clear acrylic podium is a sleek, contemporary option of choice for many companies. Clear podiums have a friendlier feel since the speaker is not separated from the audience. If your speaker is shorter or taller than average, you might consider raising the podium or providing a step for your shorter presenters. The presenter should look comfortable and confident behind the podium, and a few quick measurements will avoid an awkward situation when the they step up to make their opening remarks.

Man and two women present at podium on stage wtih screens at conference

3. Light it Up

It is typical to dim the lights of a meeting room to display the best projected images. All too often, the audience is forced to turn all of their attention to the presentation material as the speaker is literally left in the dark. Adding a few stage lights is not very expensive and keeps the audience engaged with both the speaker and the displayed content.

Man speaking with microphone on stage with display backdrop

4. Confidence Monitors

The goal of the presenter is to connect with the audience. This is hard to do if the speaker is looking sideways talking to points on a screen rather than out at the audience. One option is to have the presentation laptop on the podium. However, the laptop screen blocks the speaker and the presenter is often looking down at their presentation instead of out at the audience. The professional AV solution for this situation is to add one or two large flat screen confidence monitors at the edge of the stage and have the laptop controlled by the presenter remotely with a handheld advancer or clicker. The presenter sees exactly what is on the projection screens as they look out into the audience. Your speaker will be thankful for these useful tools and your audience will get a great presentation.

Close up of conference monitor set up next to indoor conference stage

5. Multiple Images

To keep audiences engaged, consider multiple screens with different messaging. TV’s are commonly put on the stage and can rotate logos, or other big idea content to support the meeting theme. The larger projection screen(s) carry the specific detailed content, powerpoint presentations, videos, etc. Not only does the TV messaging on stage relay important information to the audience, today’s flat screen TV’s are simply great eye candy and grab attention.

Avista Audio Visual can provide all of these meeting elements and more to make your next event a great success. Give us a call at 888.462.8478 or request a quotation today.

Speaker at podium on stage in crowded conference room

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the avista rentals teamAbout Avista Audio Visual Rentals

Thank you for visiting our website! Our team at Avista has worked long and hard to understand what's important to you, our customer, which is distilled into our 4 Value Principles: 1) Being transparent with our pricing, 2) Being prompt and friendly in all our communications with you, 3) Delivering the right AV solution for your event at the best price, and 4) Exceeding your expectations with the high caliber of our crew and gear. We're very proud that these principals have driven strong growth since our founding in 2005, to where we are now one of the premier providers of AV rentals and AV production services on the West Coast. Customers have the choice of picking up and returning AV gear to any of our offices, or having our team of highly skilled audio and video technicians deliver and run the AV aspects of your meeting or event.

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