In spite of all the conversations you may have with your client, as a Keynote/MC/Entertainer, sometimes what you need at the presentation is not always provided. It could be because of a simple misunderstanding, an incomplete Rider, or even no Rider at all. It could even be because your agent doesn’t care about your needs at all (time to get a new agent).
Here are five simple things that you can pack in your carry-on to ensure a great presentation if the tech is not up to what you need.
1. A MIC STAND
At the start of my career, I was hired to perform for a lunchtime event at a local college and was given a podium mic on a six-foot cord. No stand. I had to ask an audience member to hold the mic for me – interview fashion – so I could do my act. The next day I bought my first mic stand. Amazon.ca
2. A PERSONAL WINDSCREEN
If the client is supplying you with our sound system they are either a) hiring a production company or b) using the in-house system. Either way, THOUSANDS of speakers, entertainers and MC’s have used the mic that you are about to use and no one has bothered to disinfect it. Nothing is more off-putting than looking down and seeing lipstick stains on the mic. While it doesn’t clean the mic, your own windscreen will help guard against getting a cold – or worse. Plus they come in a variety of colours so you could coordinate it to your show. Amazon.ca
3. DISINFECTANT
If you don’t want to use a windscreen, there is a great product on the market called Goby Labs Microphone Sanitizer. It is safe for all microphones and will kill those nasty germs that get trapped inside the mic. Household cleaners will as well but they have chemicals that will eventually damage the mic. AVShop.ca
4. AN EXTRA MIC CABLE
What happens if you arrive and the mic is looped through a podium with the cable taped to the floor (or worse – connected to a pocket in the floor under a permanent podium with a very short cord)? Simply add another cord to the end of the mic and take it from the podium. The podium will still be there but at least you won’t be tied to it.
5. A WIRELESS ADAPTER
Sennheiser has come out with a great new product that will easily turn any standard microphone into a wireless mic. It runs on a USB rechargeable battery, lasts 5 hours and has a 350ft range. Simply plug one side into the mic and the other side into the cord/wall/mixer, and you are good to go! Amazon.ca
Now get out there and give them a great presentation.
