RoadCase Studies: Corporate Functions Your Corporate Event may involve many elements, but it's inevitable that one or more speakers will address the audience. The message must be clearly understandable by its audience and hold its attention. The Event probably includes musical or other acts and some form of visual display. Audio Aspects It is especially important that PA systems used for Corporate Events reproduce speech with excellent clarity. The "speakers' reproduction or the speakers" must sound natural. The microphone and processing techniques used for speakers / presenters are somewhat different to those used for singers. The main technical challenge for presenters is achieving enough level without system feedback. This is because:  Spoken words are not very loud and some speakers are really quiet  presenters are often quite distant from their microphones  Many lectern and lapel mics are omnidirectional (they pick up from all directions) Operational challenges include: Presenters with poor mic technique  Some presenters are loud and others soft  Variations in the sound of different presenters' voices FOH system size is scaled according to the venue. More elaborate systems have multiple loudspeaker sets distributed around the audience to achieve even sound coverage. Radio mics may be used to enable presenters to move about or field questions from the audience. Where musical and other acts are included, the PA system must be able to support extra channels and artist foldback requirements of those acts. Video Aspects Your presentation may include video replay or live camera(s) displayed on large screens. Video replay (DVD &c) may include soundtrack, so the PA must be able to accommodate the required number of extra channels. Video display may be large plasma / LCD or projection onto screen. A vision mixer may be needed to switch between video sources or otherwise control what is shown on the displays. Staging and Stage Management When the Corporate Event program includes multiple items, staging and stage management are vital to the presentation and smooth flow of the event. Backdrops, sets, rostra &c must be provided and ready on stage. Artists and presenters must be presented on stage at the correct times.