Do you speak for a living? Whether you teach, preach or lecture, there is a good chance you've spent several months of your life pounding lecterns with your fist. That is, of course, unless you're a junior high school band teacher, in which case you buy batons by the gross to beat the music stand to a pulp—and the kids still won't listen to you, will they?

Whether you're a pounder or an innocent bystander, no lecture hall, classroom or church should be without a lectern. Sometimes, however, lecterns need a little updating with special additions. Know where to get supplies for lecterns and speak easier. When setting up podiums and lecterns, consider the following:

1. Keep microphones up to snuff for all your lecterns.

2. Add practicality to any podium with wooden lectern audiovisual furniture.

3. Get a built-in PA system for portable podiums and lecterns.

Action Steps for Lecterns
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Spread the word with quality microphones for lecterns and podiums

Can your audience hear you better when you don't use a microphone than when you do? Maybe it's time for a replacement. A quality microphone can help you make sure your audience can hear your message loud and clear.

I recommend: If you're looking for a new microphone on your floor lectern, check with World Music Supply for dozens of choices, including news type microphones and stereo output microphones. If you prefer a wireless microphone system, AKG Acoustics offers a nice variety of equipment.

Get audiovisual cabinets to turn business, school and church lecterns into multimedia stations

Although business, school or church lecterns can stand alone, many aren't large enough to hold the audiovisual equipment a speaker requires. You can get everything you need to turn a lectern into an ideal presentation stand.

I recommend: Visit Ergo In Demand for quality wooden podiums with built-in audiovisual shelves, or free-standing audiovisual cabinets to place next to lecterns. Colortone Audio Visual offers a large multimedia lectern called the ESL-48. They also sell many other products that can turn a lectern into an audiovisual center.

Find a tabletop portable podiums PA system to be heard above the crowd

In spite of your preparation and planning, the day may come when the lecture hall has neither lecterns nor working public address systems. You can get a tabletop lectern with an integrated public address (PA) system to save your other PA system (posterior anatomy) in the event there is no other working audio system available. These systems are ideal for indoor or outdoor speeches.

I recommend: Get the outstanding Amplivox S250 tabletop lectern with microphone and 50 watt amplifier at AudioLink. You'll find the innovative Aplipod desktop lectern with built in PA system at Industries for the Blind.

Tips & Tactics for Lecterns

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Is it your turn at the portable lectern? To keep audio feedback to a minimum, don't point the microphone at your mouth. Point it at your chin. This won't mean you'll never have audio problems, but there should be fewer of them.

Lecterns and podiums are part of most institutional public speaking: churches, university lecture halls, press conferences and business events. Their presence lends formality and authority, but their purpose is far more mundane. A simple, sometimes portable lectern holds speech notes and perhaps a microphone. More complex lectern models for teaching can store hi-tech audio-visual equipment, computers and more.

Buying a lectern or podium is not rocket science, but it helps to understand the range of choices.

In this guide on lecterns, we cover:

1. Choosing a heavy-use lectern
2. When to buy a portable lectern
3. Desktop or tabletop lecterns
4. Lecterns for use with computers and projectors
5. Selection a church lectern

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

A solid, quality lectern for most uses is a type of furniture

If you expect the lecture to stand up to a lot of use -- for instance, to be used for regular public speaking events, like on a stage, ballroom, or a school setting -- be prepared to spend on something heavy, wooden and sturdy.

I recommend: Lecturns for heavy use can be found at office furniture specialists like Hertz Furniture Systems and Best Lecterns. See more at the Business.com directory listing of lectern vendors.

Lecterns for office settings can be simpler, more portable

Speaking to smaller groups or off-camera is often less formal -- and more effective -- if there's less visual clutter between the speaker and his or her listeners.

I recommend: Consider a plexiglass or pole-style lectern. They hold up speech notes but don't get in the way. Take a look at some examples of this type of podium at Modern Office and Displays2Go.

Another portable lectern is the desktop lectern

Typical of university settings, a desktop portable lectern can be effective in an office setting as well, in part because it is much smaller and be stored with a hassle.

I recommend: Review desktop portable lectern models, also called tabletop lecterns, at AV Furniture Plus and School Outfitters.

A podium lectern can come wired with audio-visual tools

In many educational settings, a lectern is most useful if it's highly adjustable and comes ready to plug in projects, computers and other audio-visual gear.

I recommend: Some vendors of state-of-the-art AV podiums, lecterns include SmartDesks, Eon Designs and Hi-Tech Furnishings.

Buying a church lectern

Lecturns for churches and synagogues are particular in design and sold by furniture makers with years of experience. They are generally much heavier, not a portable lectern, and come ready for microphone wiring.

I recommend: Take at look at the choices in a church lectern from Heavenly Wood and Hall Furniture.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Buying a lectern, podium or church lectern is a matter of budgeting first. One model might be cheaper but not hold up to regular public use. A nice heavy wooden lectern okay a a church lectern will be impractical in most other settings.
• •  Podiums, lecterns and stands are generally available from office stores, but the selection wil be limited. Better to check the catalogs of serious office furniture store before spending.
• •  Like podiums, lecterns are indispensible for public speaking on stage or before large crowds. You'll need to make sure your choice in lectern comes with microphone attachments like goosenecks and, in many cases, electrical outlets for a laptop computer.

Lecterns are ideal for speakers who need to glance at reference materials during a presentation. Companies, organizations and institutions that have presentations often can benefit from purchasing lecterns and podiums because company representatives will feel more comfortable using a podium with which they are familiar.

When you are planning the budget for lecterns or podiums for your company, consider the following pricing and costs of lecterns:

1. Factor the cost of the podium into your budget.

2. Decide if your company or your speakers can benefit from specialty lecterns.

3. Remember to add the cost of accessories you need for your lectern into the budget.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Determine the cost of the lectern you wish to purchase

Lecterns come in a varied range of styles and materials. Because of this, the price of lecterns varies greatly. In general, you will find that a portable lectern is less expensive than a stationary lectern. A wood lectern is usually more expensive than an acrylic lectern.

I recommend: Modern Offices sells a varied selection of lecterns, including church lecterns, portable lecterns, adjustable lecterns and wooden lecterns. Prices range from around $200 to higher than $7,000. BestLecterns.com has traditional lecterns, prices from around $1,300, and table top lecterns, which start at around $600. This company will make custom lecterns.

Consider purchasing a specialty lectern

There are certain instances where investing in a specialty lectern will be more cost efficient than purchasing a regular lectern and then trying to retrofit it your needs. A special needs lectern, for example, is ideal if you will have a frequent speaker who is disabled. A multimedia lectern is ideal if your presentations use a computer or other multimedia devices.

I recommend: Displays2Go offers a varied selection of lecterns, including specialty lecterns. You can find multimedia lecterns, including models with a locking cabinet for around $2,500 at this company. Da-Lite offers special needs floor lecterns, which range from around $3,200 to more than $5,000.

Factor in the cost of accessories for podiums and lecterns

An added expense of podiums and lecterns is the sound equipment needed so the audience can hear the speaker. Some lecterns have basic sound equipment built into them and others don't have any. When you are purchasing a lectern, consider the cost of these supplies, including replacement microphones and cables.

I recommend: Lecterns&Podiums.com sells numerous lecturns, podiums and accessories for them, including microphones, which start at under $100 for a basic model. This website offers information to help you choose a lectern or podium that meets your needs. AmpliVox offers sound systems for lecterns and podiums. This company offers packages, which start at around $3,000 for a basic package.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Companies that send speakers out to multiple venues on a regular basis should consider purchasing portable podiums with the company logo to add instant credibility to the presentation.

The lectern goes by many names, and it is available in many shapes, styles, colors and designs. Lecterns are a must for any venue in which a speaker will be folding forth. Churches, schools and corporations all rely on this kind of furniture to help deliver professional and quality impressions to an audience. Knowing about some of the key terms related to these ancient devices will help business managers make good buying decisions and understand more about all of the gear they are looking for to outfit a speaking venue.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Podium

A podium is a raised space like a stage, where a speaker or other person addresses an audience. However, another very real definition of a podium is a 'stand,' and many also use the term 'podium' to describe a lectern.

I recommend: Find out more about podiums at Podiums and Lecterns. Get both definitions at The Free Dictionary.

Lectern microphone

The lectern often goes along with a special kind of microphone. Lectern microphones are mics that are mounted onto a lectern for the specific purpose of recording those speaking there. Lectern mics come in various shapes and sizes.

I recommend: See a definition of lectern microphones (directly under the heading) and a long list of specs for different models at Pro AV Magazine.

Rostrum

This now-obscure term is used interchangeably with 'lectern.'

I recommend: Find out more about all of the synonyms used to describe lecterns at Podium and Lectern store.

Pulpit

The pulpit can refer to either a stand or a raised space. Many use it to describe a religious figure's overall position, but others use it for the actual stand they use when speaking, and so it has become another synonym for a lectern.

I recommend: See this as well as another definition at Merriam Webster.

P.A. system

Many of us commonly refer to a P.A. system as a place where a speaker can use a lectern, be it a church, public hall or corporate space. The P.A. stands for 'public address.' A public address system is the system used to amplify whatever goes on at the front of a room or anywhere else.

I recommend: Find definitions for a P.A. system at Babylon Free Dictionary. Also see Musician's Friend for a full description.

Portable lecterns

One choice for less-permanent speaking venues is a portable lectern. A portable lectern is one that can be easily moved from place to place.

I recommend: Get product definitions and more on portable lecterns from Ergo in Demand.