The free-standing installations known as podiums or lecterns can be useful in a range of business situations. In a variety of public places from food service venues to churches and universities, wooden or synthetic podiums fill different roles in a business scenario.

Managers or buyers for any kind of business can get deals on wooden, metal or other style podiums online from vendors. Buyers might look for various styles of podiums according to their business use, including:

1. Unadorned wooden, metal or glass podiums for restaurant hostess desks.
2. Speaker-oriented wood podium models for universities or other public spaces, or church podiums for religious use.
3. Specialized wooden podiums outfitted with microphones and other sound gear for government or corporate use or occasional use by top brass at corporate assemblies.
   

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Get simple wooden or commercial design podiums for host/hostess stands

All kinds of food service businesses that utilize staff to seat diners can use certain kinds of podiums as a presentation tool for the people in charge of getting guests to tables.

I recommend: Simple models like this floor standing lectern from CSN Supply provide space for storing menus and other supplies, making it perfect for use as a host/hostess stand in restaurants. The Cresco/Resco Restaurant Equipment and Supply provides more restaurant type podiums for sale on a presentable online catalog page.

Get speaker-designed podiums for public speaking purposes

No matter whether you're buying for university professors, office presentations, church pulpits, or other places for speakers to address the public, you'll want stylish solutions. Use online pages to browse for styles that make sense for your business.

I recommend: Accuwood offers a range of podium and lectern models great for educational settings or religious use in an accessible catalog. Get simple wood or acrylic podiums for offices or classrooms at Modern Office to take care of public speaking needs for a guest lecturer, in-house presenter or occasional staff assembly.

Look for high-end podiums for addressing crowds

If the business includes a need for a larger public speaking system, your wooden podium or lectern will need microphones and sound gear to get speakers into an amplified zone. Vendors offering high-design podiums include contemporary technology for linking up to speakers and sound systems.

I recommend: Get top-rated business podiums at Podiums Online. You can find low prices, online buys, and great shipping solutions for commercial and municipal podiums outfitted with sound systems at Podium Source.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When looking for a podium for a particular business, consider the style of the surroundings that the podium will be placed in. You'll want to find a match not just in terms of function but in terms of the overall aesthetic. It may help to find several solutions and narrow the options down for a final result.

A podium or a lectern can make all the difference when delivering that all-important speech to your employees, or a sermon to your congregation. With standard wood podiums, you can hide your shaky hands and keep organized for a smooth presentation.

A wooden podium is also a necessary feature in most restaurants, giving a hostess or maitre d' a place to store menus and the reservation book.

Many podium manufacturers are incorporating new technology into their podium styles. When looking for podiums for sale, take note of:

1. A wide array of choices, ranging from wooden podiums to glass or plexiglass podiums.
2. Prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to thousands for top-of-the line podiums.
3. Choice of stationary or portable styles of business podiums.

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Get your point across with church podiums that work with you

Choices in church podiums range widely, from sturdy wooden podiums to lightweight Lucite podiums. Consider your need for amplification, as many podiums offer built-in sound that you can control yourself. If your church is traditional, and you have a permanent location in mind, choose a wooden podium. If your church is more contemporary and changes its set-up frequently, think about an acrylic podium that you can customize with your church logo.

I recommend: Lecterns and Podiums features a Z-shaped acrylic podium that weighs 85 pounds for easy relocation throughout the church. Try Religious Church Podiums, who can custom engrave your acrylic podium to your specifications. For wood podiums on casters, consider Oklahoma Sound Prestige, available in light and medium oak, walnut or mahogany. These church podiums include a built-in fluorescent light, timepiece and amplifier.

Stay organized and be heard with custom podiums

Speaker's podiums for sale come in several styles, floor-style or a tabletop version. Or how about a wood podium that has the features of both? Look for high-quality woods and rolling casters for portability, as well as lighting and amplification options.

I recommend: With the fully-powered lectern with input and output from Podiums Online, you have all the control for your sound and wireless capabilities. The Deluxe Hardwood Two-Piece Speaker's Podium can be used as a tabletop podium or a floor-style podium. Or try out the feature-packed Column Podium from Displays2Go, with an amplifier and built-in Jensen speakers. A fold-up wooden podium is a great option for travel.

Choose a custom podium for your restaurant

If you're running a restaurant, you'll quickly realize that a podium is a necessary feature for your wait staff. Look for specialized podiums with storage pockets for menus and special lighting.

I recommend: Give your maitre d' a place to orchestrate the motions of your restaurant with a deluxe hardwood host station. This wood podium has locking doors and drawers, Corian top and brass accents. Superior Products has an affordable maitre d' wooden podium with a slide-out shelf and two shelves for storage, as well as locking caster wheels.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Be aware that some podiums arrive unassembled, so get your tools ready for when your shipment arrives.

A podium is useful for public speakers because it can hold a microphone and written material. However, many venues opt not to provide a podium and expect the speaker to provide his own.

Whether you are a public speaker or a venue operator that wants to invest in a podium, there are some specific cost considerations. Check out the following ideas to help you accurately gauge the amount of money you will spend on a podium and accessories:

1. Know the cost of a basic podium as the starting point of creating your budget.

2. Consider purchasing a specialty podium if it meets your needs better than a regular one.

3. Add up the cost of accessories when you are making your podium budget.

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Factor in the cost of a basic podium

A basic podium is a podium that doesn't have any frills. However, these podiums can come with or without a sound system, depending on your needs. Generally, this podium will stay in one area throughout the use cycle. Many of these are wooden and are extremely heavy. Others are acrylic, which is a little lighter.

I recommend: Everything Furniture offers numerous basic podiums. Acrylic podiums start at under $700. BestLecterns.com sells wooden podiums. The basic model of a solid wood podium starts at just under $1,300. You can add a wood logo to your podium for around $300 or a metal one for around $600.

Upgrade to a specialty podium

A specialty podium, such as an adjustable podium or a special needs podium is ideal for venues or public speaking groups that have a specific need for it. An adjustable podium is easy to move and can be taken from one venue to another with very little hassle. A special needs podium is good for a person who is in a wheel chair or must sit during the presentation.

I recommend: Displays2Go has specialty podiums for sale starting at under $100 for a folding podium. Other podiums range from around $700 for a no frills, adjustable podium and up to over $3,000 for special needs podiums. LecternsandPodiums.com has business podiums and church podiums equipped with sound systems starting at under $600 and going up higher than $5,000 depending on the style of podium and options chosen.

Consider the cost of accessories for the podium

When buying new podiums, pricing and costs of accessories is usually not considered. However, these costs can add up quickly, especially if you have a sound system or multimedia equipment that will be used with your podium. Fans and microphones are two of the accessories you have to consider.

I recommend: Podium and Lectern Store has a varied selection of podium accessories for sale. Covers start at under $100, multimedia cooling fans cost about $150 and microphones start at around $200. You can find microphones for podiums starting at around $50 for mounted models and around $120 for portable models at ivg Stores.

Educators, sales personnel, pastors, governing bodies and community groups all rely on podiums to help them get their message across to an audience. A podium serves as "home base" for the speaker, providing a place for him or her to organize their presentation materials. A wide variety of podium options exist. Truly, there are podiums for every type of speaker and every type of speaking venue. Before choosing a podium, a review of the many options may reveal new, perhaps more cost-effective, alternatives.

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Table top

A table top podium is a mini-lectern that can be easily transported from one place to another. It can be set upon any table top in any environment or placed atop an existing lectern base. With a portable table top podium, a presenter can easily move from one room to another as the need arises.

I recommend: Visit School-Classroom-Furniture.com to see table top podiums.

Adjustable height

When multiple presenters must use the same floor podium, the ability to adjust the podium to the speaker's height is a plus. An adjustable height podium helps speakers more feel comfortable.

I recommend: Office Depot offers adjustable height podiums.

Mobile

A mobile podium enables presenters to deliver a message or AV presentation anywhere. These podiums have locking caster wheels, and a top that tilts in different directions to accommodate the speaker and his or her materials. The height can be adjusted with a pneumatic lever.

I recommend: The Ergo in Demand website offers mobile podiums.

All in one

An all-in-one podium can be used either as a lectern or as an audio visual cart. Its caster wheels give teachers or presenters the option of precise positioning within a classroom or conference room. All-in-one podiums may have storage shelves and locking doors.

I recommend: To see an all-in-one podium visit Podiums Online.

Floor

Floor podiums are made of wood or lightweight acrylic. Some can be manually adjusted to accommodate the height of the speaker. Many floor podium models are equipped with lights, lavaliere (clip on) or condenser microphones, speakers and storage shelves.

I recommend: See floor podiums at Lecternsandpodiums.com.

Folding

Like other podiums, folding podiums may be equipped with a sound system. The difference is that folding podiums convert to a compact size that makes them easy to transport from one venue to another. Many models come with their own carrying cases, complete with wheels and luggage handles.

I recommend: You can see a folding podium at the Displays2go website.