Audio Is Everything in All Hands Spaces
The latest displays captivate and immerse, but high-quality audio is the foundation of an effective all-hands space. Without it, audiences simply disengage.
Consider a 2020 study by the University of Southern California and Australian National University which found that poor audio quality not only decreases listener comprehension, it reduces audiences’ trust in presenters. Meeting attendees actually perceive speakers as less intelligent and less likable when audio is degraded.
The Challenges of Poor Audio
Humans simply don’t have the fortitude to put up with bad audio. In 2019 Microsoft research demonstrated that audio quality has a greater impact on comprehension and fatigue than video quality. Poor audio forces listeners to exert more effort to understand speech, leading to listening fatigue and reduced engagement.
Even minor audio distortions or background noise increase cognitive load. This is especially notable in hybrid meetings, where sound issues are the principal cause of disengagement. Research from Cisco and Dimensional Research shows that half of remote participants tune out when audio clarity is poor.
Enhance Intelligibility Through Speaker System Design
Since audiences that are straining to hear will quickly disengage, it’s essential that AV sound design in your all-hands space ensure clear, natural and evenly distributed audio.
Focus first on how to ensure even sound coverage. A common mistake in town hall sound design involves placing a few large speakers at the front and blasting the room. This creates hot spots near the speakers and dead zones in the rear of your all-hands space. The solution? Distributed audio that uses multiple smaller speakers – including ceiling, wall-mounted and line-array speakers – to provide consistent sound across the facility. Implementation of delayed speaker zones will help maintain consistent volume and prevent sound decay over distance and electro-acoustic simulation can help you optimize speaker placement and dispersion.
It’s also important to use the right speaker for the space. Column array speakers provide even sound without excessive reflection in long or narrow environments. Point-source speakers provide uniform coverage in wide rooms. And in more cavernous spaces ceiling-mounted speakers can be oriented to direct sound downward to where people are sitting.
Speaker technology can also counter reverberation and echoes in town hall spaces where glass walls, hard floors and high ceilings reflect sound. Directional speakers with narrow dispersion patterns, for example, can reduce excess reflections.
Also be sure to maintain comfortable volume levels: 60-70 dB SPL in the audience area, which is loud enough to be clear but not overpowering. Zoned sound systems can also help by adjusting sound levels dynamically based on audience location.
Maximize Clarity with the Right Microphone Solutions
In all-hands environments, poorly chosen and placed microphones lead to disengagement by muddying speech, amplifying background noise, and creating uneven audio. To maximize speech intelligibility for hybrid town hall gatherings, invest in microphone solutions that ensure in-person and remote audiences hear clear, natural sound without strain.
For optimal audio capture, you’ll want to take advantage of beamforming microphones. They automatically track the speakers, even as they move about. The mics also change focus from panel member to panel member while filtering out background noise and reducing reverberation.
Though beamforming technology can eliminate the need for handheld or lapel (lavalier) microphones, audio experts recognize the value of a microphone that’s essentially attached to a speaker – especially wireless mics that enable presenters to move about. Moreover, a high-quality RF or digital wireless system will ensure low latency and dropout-free performance.
To optimize audio performance for panel discussions, consider tabletop boundary microphones. They capture sound evenly from multiple speakers while minimizing background noise and work well in conference-style setups with roundtable discussions or Q&A panels.
Another way to reduce crosstalk and background noise: Use digital signal processing (DSP), which prioritizes the active microphone. In addition, features like acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) and automatic gain control (AGC) will help ensure consistent volume.
Reduce Noise in Town Halls with Acoustic Treatments
Large environments are prone to audio issues like reverberation, echo and background noise. Acoustic treatments help to control reflections and improve speech intelligibility.
Start by identifying the main noise issues in your space. Is there reverberation from hard surfaces like glass, concrete and tile? Does your HVAC system generate ambient noise? Perhaps you’re confronted with sound bleed from adjacent spaces.
One option for mitigation involves using wall-mounted acoustic panels to reduce echoes. Among your options are fabric-wrapped ones, perforated wood panels, and eco-friendly PET felt panels. Options abound for acoustic treatments that preserve room aesthetics. That’s good news for designers because you’ll want 25-35% wall coverage for noticeable improvements in acoustics.
Acoustic ceiling clouds, or floating panels, can help control overhead reflections, as will ceiling baffles and drop-ceiling acoustic tiles (for standard ceilings). Here, too, manufacturers offer solutions that preserve aesthetics in spaces with exposed concrete, metal or open ceilings.
Other ways to improve room acoustics include the use of sound-dampening floor coverings and cloth-upholstered furniture. Soundproofing solutions like heavy curtains or acoustic drapes block external noises. Additionally, wood or poly-cylinder diffusers on rear walls help to scatter sound evenly. And don’t forget to optimize speaker and microphone placement to work with acoustics.
Use Auto-Mixing to Optimize Audio Quality
Auto-mixing enables you to intelligently manage multiple microphones to prevent audio clutter and ensure that in-person and remote audiences effortlessly hear only what matters.
Auto-mixing works by prioritizing the active speaker while muting or lowering unused microphones. It prevents multiple mics from picking up the same sound and causing phase issues. It also reduces background noise and room reflections by dynamically adjusting gain and eliminating sudden level jumps when different people are speaking.
Note the various types of auto-mixing technologies. They include gating audio-mixers for panel discussions and Q&A; gain-sharing auto-mixers for dynamic presentations and open discussions, and Dante-enabled auto-mixers for large, scalable systems with multiple microphone zones.
Whichever system you choose, heed best practices. For example, use directional microphones to limit background pickup. Set proper threshold levels so mics activate only when needed. Cancel echoes and suppress noise with DSP. And be sure to test and fine-tune auto-mix settings based on room acoustics and event type.
Fortunately, it’s becoming easier to adhere to best practices as AI is increasingly used in auto-mixing to make real-time intelligent decisions about mic levels, noise suppression and voice clarity. AI goes beyond basic gating and gain-sharing by learning from audio environments and adapting to them dynamically. At the same time, most AI-enabled DSPs and auto-mixers provide a hybrid control approach whereby AI handles real-time optimizations, but operators can override or adjust levels manually in critical moments.
Do Not Forget to Train Presenters
No matter how good your audio technology is, untrained presenters can sabotage your efforts. If speakers don’t use proper microphone techniques or fail to articulate clearly and are unable to optimize their speaking style, the audio can still suffer and audiences will disengage.
Among the first thing presenters need to polish are their microphone techniques. Training should focus on distance and placement of microphones, how to avoid mic-handling noise, and how to maintain a consistent distance from the mic when moving around.
To manage background noise, presenters should position the microphone so that it picks up only their voice. Educate them on the basic controls of the microphone and AV system, such as volume levels, so they can adjust quickly if needed. Also provide guidance on how to avoid audio feedback by not standing too close to speakers or pointing the microphone directly at a speaker. Moreover, speakers should test their mics before the meeting to ensure everything’s in working order.
Finally, presenters should be prepared for unexpected audio issues. Show them how to quickly adjust their mic (or signal for help) if there’s a technical issue. Teach them to pause and wait for quiet if background noise becomes disruptive. And when audio issues occur, train presenters to re-emphasize key points for clarity.
Hear this: Do not take audio for granted in town hall environments!
All-hands spaces present special challenges for audio design. Understanding and addressing them will pay tremendous dividends, especially if you keep one thought top of mind: When speech is effortless to hear and understand, people will be free to focus on your message. And isn’t that the whole point of creating a town hall environment?
