|
|
Continued from page 1...
While tabletop portable lecterns offer some advantages over the x-stand variety of portable lectern, the tabletop versions are not adjustable. The platform’s angle is fixed and the height of the platform is, of course, dependent on the height of the table or desk. These factors, in some situations, can be at best a nuisance and at worst a fundamental distraction for the person speaking.
One large step up from the table top varieties of portable lecterns are the portable table top versions with built in microphone and speaker. Far more expensive than the other two varieties these portable lecterns are for larger and more specialized speaking engagements such as a traveling presentation to larger audiences in non-traditional or under-resourced facilities. Although this style of portable lectern sounds bulky, they are in general surprisingly compact. These portable lecterns are designed to fold, much like basic table top portable lecterns, and when folded shut are seldom more than 5 inches thick, only a bit thicker than most briefcases.
While some people and organizations employ microphone and speaker portable lecterns as middle-range solutions successfully, a 25-Watt speaker (which is what most of them use) provides enough power only up to a certain point, at which time it becomes prudent to supplement the lectern with a separate PA. A built-in microphone and speaker system can be extremely handy in some situations, but it is also known that room acoustics play a major role in a presentation’s audio quality and intelligibility. In some situations the limited options of a portable lectern with a built in microphone will be unable to cope as successfully with some contingencies as might a dedicated PA system.
Although they are not as common as the aforementioned portable lectern types, there are some portable lecterns made to resemble the more traditional wooden fixtures associated with larger and more ‘professional’ type events. Some of these can actually be quite advanced items with LED clock/timers built into the platform as well as a reading light. Portable lecterns of this variety, though much heaver, often compensate with other functional and aesthetic features including though not limited to height adjustment or even a convert-ability function so that the portable lectern can function as a floor lectern or table top lectern depending on the needs of the situation. Furthermore, such high-end models of portable lecterns tend to strive for a polished or refined look so that many come in a variety of veneers and finishes ranging from light to dark to red ‘woods’.
This was just a small sampling of the various types of portable lecterns available to the presenters of today. Without a doubt some creative spirits are making and selling portable lecterns in materials and styles such as clear acrylic or truss. The type of portable lectern an individual or organization will select will depend upon the relative concerns of aesthetics and function. Such concerns are bound to be shifting from one event location to the next and it is precisely the flexibility of portable lecterns that make them so useful.
Click here to return to the Articles and Information Section
|
|
|
