Good visuals get attention, but great audio keeps it. Whether you're hosting a corporate meeting, product launch, or hybrid conference, clear, professional sound is essential. In this blog, we’ll break down why audio quality matters, common sound issues to avoid, and how working with the right AV team makes all the difference.
Sound is the collection of all noises within your venue. The ultimate goal is to make your event ‘SOUND’ great. Event professionals utilize great Audio Tools, for example, microphones, mixers and loudspeakers, to achieve that goal.
We’re going to discuss not only the audio system as the tool to deliver great sound, but also the impact of the type of content used to convey messages and emotions.
Audio is largely taken for granted, but impacts all aspects of any live, hybrid, or virtual event. Audio delivers your message, reinforces audience attention, and defines your tone of emotion. When executed professionally, audio is the behind-the-scenes power behind every successful event.
Ultimately, we want to create an environment that connects the audience to your content with the least amount of distracting noise.
Clarity is on a spectrum, depending on the type of event. A keynote speaker, the CEO's business update, or the Valedictorian address requires high speech intelligibility. This means that the words and messages can be clearly understood by the audience.
Audio fidelity, on the other hand, is important for music and entertainment and refers to an accurate amplification of the sounds as intended.
Clarity in speech isn't just about hearing, it's about processing. Research confirms that people retain information better when they hear it without interference. Crisp, evenly distributed sound enhances both memory and learning outcomes.
Sound doesn’t just convey information, it shapes how people feel. Choosing music & ambient soundtracks that reflect the tone of the event prepares the audience for your message or content. High-energy music can energize a crowd, nature sounds can calm a nervous room, and the right musical selection builds anticipation before a big reveal. Sonic cues guide your audience’s emotional journey throughout an event. Use walk-on and walk-off music to reflect your brand and tell the story of the presenter. Transitional music keeps audiences engaged between segments. Even subtle background tracks can reduce perceived waiting time.
Audio fuels connection. Your audio must be correctly mixed for the audience. The in-room system needs a slightly different mix than the online viewers. For events with multilingual audiences, clear feeds are essential for interpreters and translation systems. When attendees hear clearly and without distraction, they engage more deeply, remember more, and feel more connected to the content.
The cases for high-quality sound at an event are universal: comprehension, emotion, and economics. Whether your event content is spoken word or musical, the audience needs to hear and comprehend as you intended. A paid, ticketed event is no different than a room full of company employees or graduating seniors, there is an emotional and financial investment made by the attendees, and you need to deliver.
The audience is associating everything about the event with your brand and reputation. When the audio is poor, it is distracting and it reflects poorly on you. When a listener struggles to hear, it is physically and mentally exhausting and detracts from comprehension and retention. High-quality audio removes that distraction, and attendees are more likely to recall the message clearly.
Polished audio is a sign of a well-run event. Balanced, full-spectrum sound instantly elevates your production quality, helping even modest gatherings feel high-end. Audio isn't just functional, it's part of the experience.
Poor sound coverage can isolate sections of your audience. Expert speaker placement and tuning ensure that attendees at the back or edges of a venue enjoy the same rich, intelligible experience as those up front. This sense of inclusion is vital for engagement and satisfaction.
Improve your presenter's speech: if your presenter speaks softly, rapidly or with a thick accent, no audio system or engineer will fix this in a live event setting. If you cannot choose an alternative speaker, consider speech coaching, which has proven effective for many executives.
Overcome attendee noise and conversation: Many social events become raucous settings where the audio system cannot overcome the background noise of the room. It’s up to the emcee and the content to grab and keep the audience's attention.
Eliminate reverberation or background noise in your venue: glass and marble make sound bounce in unpredictable ways. HVAC, silverware clinking, or machinery noise might be too much for the audio system to overcome and will distract the listeners.
A hybrid event typically means that one or more of your presenters will do some from a remote location. A great example is using Zoom or Teams if they cannot travel. Getting good audio from a location that the AV team cannot control can be challenging. Some crucial advice:
Streamed events deliver your content to a listen-only audience anywhere in the world. They are not impacted by the background noise of your in-person event and require special consideration.
Trust your audio team to design a system according to the known challenges.
The most successful events start with a collaboration between the planner and the AV Production team. Review the venue, audience seating, media, speakers, and agenda, and design the correct system for your event.
The number of microphones, placement of speakers, and choice of components will vary according to those details. Even the crew and choice of engineer may be different depending on the style of event.
Include time for both soundcheck AND rehearsal. The sound check will happen with or without the presenters, but the rehearsal lets the crew dial things in. This is critical when you include musical performances or many emotional music cues.
Note that an empty venue will sound very different when filled with the audience. This is referred to as sound absorption, which reduces reflections and can improve sound quality.
Sound is the invisible thread that ties every element of your event together. When handled professionally, audio enhances communication, evokes emotion, and creates lasting impressions.
Don’t leave it as an afterthought. Invest in expert sound planning, trust your AV team, and deliver events that not only look good but sound spectacular.