Hi all, I just wanted to make a quick public service announcement here because Leviathan is a few days away (pre reg deadline is Wednesday night!) and as most if you know, Rhiassa has a portable sound system that we use with a microphone for game shows, raffles, and at court. We actually got all new equipment this year for better sound quality than ever.
I wanted to address that really quickly because every event where we pull out the speaker (or at other events that have PA systems) there are some individuals who are too shy to take the microphone and speak through it or otherwise feel like their ability to project is good enough that they don’t need electronic enhancement.
To those people I want to say this: Use the microphone.
I know you don’t want to. I’m not going to debate your personal reasoning with you. I just want to make a couple of quick points that I hope will convince you to do so, at least somewhat banking on my experience as an educator and having done a lot of public speaking.
1 - Acoustics - The Leviathan hall is a big one. Most halls that we use are. Buildings like auditoriums and theaters are constructed so that sound travels far and is reflected in the right directions to permeate the space. Boy scout dining halls are not. Add to that the general din of a room of 150 people and it’s just a graveyard for human voice. You might be really good at projecting but everything else in the environment is there to murder that projection. The microphone system has enough punch to push though it and give everyone a chance to hear you.
2 - Attention - Again it’s a big room filled with a lot of people. Some of those people don’t really want to listen to you no matter what it is you have to say. I know that because people often tell me they don’t want to listen to what I have to say. However, they are sometimes sitting at the back of the room near people who *do* want to listen to what you have to say. The sound from a speaker has the added psychological effect of compelling others to be a little quieter while making it more possible for people near them to be able to hear.
3 - Access - This is really the most important one. I don’t know about you but my ears certainly don’t work as well as they did when I was twenty-three. Maybe my parents were right about the Sony Walkman combined with Enter Sandman. And even if you didn’t punish your cochlear nerve with heavy metal when you were young there are people in our community that have suffered hearing loss for numerous reasons both medical and otherwise. Using a sound system is a valuable tool for making sure that everyone can access the same information and entertainment. It’s the kind thing to do.
So, I’m going to ask you all once again to please use the microphone when it is handed to you. And I’ll go one further. Event holders, get a sound system for your event team if you throw these kinds of social events. I’d be happy to give you some advice on how to do so at a pretty reasonable price if you reach out.
In service,
Jason “Aeston” Rosa
