There’s a debate. Or, there should be. Lapel vs Handheld Microphone. Know why you are using one over the other. And, if you don’t have an option, learn to use the one you have to your benefit.
A hand-held mic can be an incredible prop (imagine Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant or Jim Morrison with a lapel mic), but it can also be useful in creating drama, intimacy and intensity as you speak.
A lapel mic offers a certain freedom. Tony Robbins, for example, uses one well. You can work the stage unencumbered by a cord. Or, if wireless, which is more likely than not these days, you can move both hands independently.
Using a lapel mic gains the use of both hands but removes the speaker’s ability to undulate their volume. With a hand-held mic, the speaker can speak louder, but change their distance from the diaphragm (the part that “hears” your voice). Get closer and you can almost whisper. Raise your voice while increasing the distance from your mouth, though, and the opposite is true. You’ll be able to change your tension and excitement without causing issues with sound.
Let me train you to deliver your best speech.
