Conference Microphone Systems: The Ultimate Guide

If you are looking for conference microphone systems (also known as push-to-talk mic, discussion or conferencing systems) and are not sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place. We know this can be a tricky subject, so we’ve put all the necessary information on one page.

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The most common applications for conference microphone systems are:

• Board rooms
• Focus groups
• School boards and PTAs
• Conference and meeting facilities
• Classrooms and educational seminars
• Parliamentary and government settings

In plain English, conference mic systems are a type of audio equipment that enable meeting participants to hear and be heard by each other.

Imagine a 20-member city council sitting around a table, with an additional 100 audience members watching. With a group of this size, it is impractical to pass a microphone between speakers. It would slow things down to the point of chaos.

That’s where the conference mic system comes in.

In a typical conferencing setup, each participant has a personal (gooseneck style) microphone unit. This  lets them speak to the other attendees and listen to others through a small speaker. The chairman of the meeting has a special unit with controls for volume, mute (to recognize speakers or cut off those whose time has expired), voting features, and so on.

The ultimate goal of conference microphone systems is to bring the efficiency of a small meeting to a larger setting.

Why You Need A Conference Microphone System For Your Meetings

Accessibility: Makes it easy for a wider group of speakers to participate in the meeting and allows a larger audience to follow the proceedings (either as passive listeners or after the fact via recordings).

Saves Meeting Time: Eliminates the need for speakers to constantly trade microphones, as each speaker has a personal mic. This stops needless time wasted fumbling with microphones between speakers, (or awkwardly trying to get a mic back from a speaker who has gone on too long). It is always clear who is speaking because each microphone has a light that illuminates when on.

Enables Language Interpretation: With multi-lingual groups, conference microphone systems are often used with simultaneous interpretation equipment. The individual mics allow the floor feed to be sent directly to the interpreter, so that he/she has a clear audio signal to translate.

Improves Meeting Flow: The system’s mute, volume and voting controls allow the Chairman to discreetly control the meeting, recognize participants, and call to order as necessary.

Aesthetics: The sleek and polished appearance of the systems signals professionalism and respect for all participants. By giving each speaker a personal microphone, it also shows a commitment to valuing each person’s voice.

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Key Terms for Understanding Conference Microphone Systems

A few pieces of lingo are essential to understanding these systems:

Chairman / Chairman Unit:

This is the person running the meeting. He/she can recognize speakers,alert them when their time is up, and organize voting. For this reason, the chairman has a special mic called the Chairman Unit with  additional features like muting speaker priority to direct the discussion. These push-button features are simple to use and help the speakers focus on working with the group.

Delegate / Delegate Unit: Refers to all other participants in the meeting who are not the chairman. The delegates each have their own microphone, called a Delegate Unit. These units typically have a push-to-talk button, volume control, voting buttons (optional), and a light that illuminates when the mic is live.

Central Control Unit (CCU): This is the central piece of equipment that controls (and powers, if wired) all the individual microphone units. It also mixes the mic feeds, distributes target language feeds, and powers the voting functionality. Some central units also feature built-in recording capability.

Floor Language: The main language spoken by participants at a given time.

Target Language(s): The language in which each delegate hears the speech. It can also be called the translation feed. When the audience is diverse enough to need multiple target languages, this can be provided through multiple interpreters using the same system. The rest of the interpreting process remains exactly the same.

Simultaneous Interpretation: A type of translation where the interpreter listens to the floor feed through headphones while translating orally to the target language in real time. This is a highly demanding job. The interpreter must listen, mentally translate, and speak their translation all at once, with no time to check outside resources. For more information, see our resource page on translation equipment.

Factors to Consider when Purchasing a Conference Microphone System

Ease Of Use: These systems aim to increase the efficiency of your meeting so the equipment must be easy for participants to use. No use investing in the equipment if participants can’t use it! So it is critical for the controls (volume, push to talk, on/off light) to be instantly understood by users.

Number of Participants: The number of users must be known to select the right number of delegate mic units. Most CCUs can accommodate 80-120 delegate units, so in cases of very large groups, the number of users can affect the number of central control units needed.

Sound and Signal Quality: Older model systems use an analog audio signal, but most modern systems have gone digital for increased audio quality, lighter weight, and more signal processing and recording options.

Venue: Your event location will determine if you need a wired or wireless system.  If you are using infrared interpretation gear, it’s also important to maintain a line of sight between the transmitter and the receiver, as IR signals cannot penetrate walls. Other audio equipment (eg recording equipment) that you are using on site can also play a role in this decision.

Advanced Features: Conference Microphone systems are becoming more advanced with special features, so consider whether you will need:

• Voting and Parliamentary Procedure Functions: for example keeping track of historical votes, support for more complex voting processes, etc.
• Recording Capabilities: Some units have built-in digital recording so that you can preserve the proceedings for review later, publication, etc.
• Videoconferencing: Some conferencing systems are made to integrate with cameras for video conferences. Is this something you need, or would like to keep the option of this integration in the future?

The Two Types of Conference Microphone Systems: Wired and Wireless

We partner with Listen Technologies to offer the highest quality systems on the market. The systems we offer come in two flavors: wireless and wired. Here’s an overview of the two systems:

Wired Conference Mic Systems

Key Points

• Encourages participation by giving all participants a right and ability to speak and be heard.
• Wired digital systems are ideal for settings where equipment is set-up once and infrequently moved such as hotel conference rooms, political or board meetings, gyms, libraries, and etc.
• Built-in audio recording capabilities for future playback or publication – simply plug in an external USB stick and select your desired format.
• Each Delegate Unit has its own push-to-talk button, enabling participants to simply press their button to be heard by the audience. There is also a voice activation mode, so participants do not have to press a button to be amplified.
• Each Central Control Unit can power up to 50 Delegate Units.  Can be expanded to support 1,024 conference mic units with up to 8 simultaneous open mics.
• For language translation applications, the system supports four languages. Expandable to support up to 28 languages through additional licenses.
• System is designed to resist interference (ie, that annoying buzz) caused by mobile interference.
• When active, each microphone unit features a red lighted ring for increased visibility. This light is bright enough to be picked up on camera for TV broadcast.
• Delegate and Chairman Units connect to CCU via digital Cat6 cables.
• Digital technology produces clearest audio quality possible. The digital process reduces feedback and units are fanless, so they eliminate background noise.
• Delegate units can be shared between two people to help keep the cost down if necessary.
• Participants can use built-in headphone connection for hearing assist.

Setup, Operation and Maintenance
The system is extremely easy to set up and use. A digital CAT5 cable carries signals between the CCU and the mic units. Delegates press a button to begin speaking, and a light appears for the chairman and the delegate to show the delegate’s desired to talk. Chairman Unit includes a button to allow discussion, granting permission for a delegate to speak to the group. Ongoing maintenance of devices is minimal; and they are simple to clean.

Technical Notes

• A CAT5 cable is used to connect the conference microphone system units together. The cable must be shielded to prevent interference.
• Maximum cable length between units is 260 ft. and 1,300 feet for any branch connection.
• System contains multiple input and output connectors for connecting to additional AV equipment or teleconferencing systems.
• Save your recordings in a variety of quality levels and formats: either .wav or mp3 and 64, 128, or 192 kbps.

Wireless Conference Mic Systems

Key Points

• Wireless conferencing systems are ideal for settings where compactness, portability, and ease of setup are top priorities.
• Ideal for multipurpose rooms where the equipment must be regularly broken down for storage.
• Digital signal ensures excellent sound quality. Operates in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency band for non-interference from radio waves or mobile phones.
• System is ideal for City, County, School Boards or any other organizations that have regular public meetings.
• Use with meeting suite software to create and display the session agenda, manage the flow of speakers, and control voting procedures and records.
• The chairman unit controls system volume, next speaker, and priority mic controls.
• Chairman and delegate units have headphone jacks for assistive listening or language interpretation

Setup, Operation and Maintenance

The wireless conference mic system eliminates the need for complex mixers, sound systems, and cables.  Simply ensure that the delegate and chairman units are charged (approx. 90 minutes) and power up the CCU to begin operation. Devices have feedback reduction technology that simplifies on-site operation.

Technical Notes

• Li-Ion batteries operate over 28 hours continuous use on a full battery charge.Monitor charge and battery life with LED status indicator. Battery charging time is approx. 90 minutes.

• Up to  units can connect to the system within wireless transmission range of 30 meters. Contact us for more info and technical specs.

More Helpful Resources

Listen Technologies: TEHQ is an authorized dealer for this leading global supplier of professional audio equipment. Visit their website for full details on their product line, technical specs, and service offerings.

Meeting Professionals International: A top international organization for meeting and conference planning pros. Visit their website for info on local chapters, professional development opportunities, and other events.

Audio Technica’s Mic Selection Guide: A useful guide to the different types of microphone (eg condenser, unidirectional, etc) and the pros and cons of each.

Questions? Need A System Quote?

If any other questions arise that are not addressed here, or want to discuss a custom package to meet your organization’s needs please call me toll free at:

(877) 817-

or :

Hi – I’m Will and I started this company to help you find the best simultaneous translation / interpretation equipment for your organization.

If you need a sales quote, are looking for an audio product you don’t see on the site, or have any other questions just drop me a line.

I usually respond within 30 minutes during business hours (EST).

Call: (877) 817

Or :

Note: All equipment we sell is for interpretation using a LIVE human interpreter/translator. There is nothing that I know of that exists now that is able to produce a good quality audio translation without a human interpreter.

How PayPal Works

Panel discussions are staples of academic and association events. They offer a dynamic platform to explore topics, share insights, and encourage dialogue among participants. These sessions hold unique value during virtual events, bridging geographical divides and allowing global participation. At more traditional, in-person gatherings, these real-time interactions become some of the most memorable experiences for attendees.

At the heart of every successful panel discussion lies a moderator who has mastered the art of asking the right questions. Well-crafted questions don’t just guide the conversation—they inspire it. Great discussion questions ensure panelists share meaningful insights and encourage audience engagement.

Whether you’re working on your moderating skills or supporting someone else to plan a panel discussion at an event, here’s what you should know…

Why Panel Discussion Questions Matter

The tone, depth, and direction of a panel discussion often hinge on the quality of its questions. It’s important to do your research on the topic and take your question crafting seriously. Good panel moderators know how to:

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Set the Tone
Well-crafted, thought-provoking questions shape the focus and energy of the discussion. They clarify the panel’s purpose for both participants and spectators, ensuring a more engaging and meaningful dialogue.

Encourage Diverse Viewpoints
Thoughtful questions can uncover unique perspectives, ensuring that all voices are heard, especially in multidisciplinary panels.

Drive Audience Interaction
Open-ended questions often spark audience curiosity, encouraging participation through live Q&A or polls.

Guide Expert Insights
Sometimes, when you’re an expert on a topic, it can be difficult to know when to start when you’re asked a “general question” about your work. Good moderators help experts share their most relevant and impactful insights by asking pointed questions, providing clear prompts that align with the audience's interests, and encouraging panelists to expand on key points for clarity and value.

Foster Dynamic Discussion
Asking follow-up and probing questions keeps the conversations fluid, encouraging panelists to build on each other’s ideas.

Tailoring Questions to Your Panel Discussion Format

In addition to your conference format, the type of panel format you choose will influence how questions should be framed during the discussion. Here’s how to adapt to three of the most common formats:

Moderated Discussion

In this classic format, the moderator leads the discussion, balancing panelist input and audience engagement. Questions should flow logically, covering key themes while leaving room for audience contributions. This flexible style gives the moderator the most control to guide the discussion based on the energy in the room and the topics they want to cover.

Q&A Session

Here, the audience drives much of the conversation. Pre-prepared questions can kick things off, but moderators should be ready to summarize and connect audience questions to the panel’s goals. This is a popular style of panel that usually starts with a brief introduction of the speakers and the topics/themes that the discussion aims to cover. After a longer question period with the audience, the moderator will commonly try to summarize the conversation and get a final few words of insight from each panelist before closing.

Debate Format

Debates focus on opposing views. Questions should highlight contrasting perspectives among the panelists while encouraging respectful dialogue. It’s important here for the moderator to ask follow-up questions that encourage the speakers to explore the implications of each stance. This format can lead to highly engaging and dynamic panels, but the moderator needs to be prepared to reign things in if the conversation gets too heated.

Types of Panel Discussion Questions (and Examples)

If you’re planning or moderating a panel discussion, it’s important to have a wide range of question types prepared to ask your speakers. Diversity in approach will lead to a dynamic discussion and a more interesting experience for both the panelists and the audience. In particular, you should avoid yes/no questions. Opt for ones that demand thoughtful, detailed answers. Some ways you could categorize your panel discussion questions are outlined below (including a few examples of each type):

Personal Questions

Start by introducing the panelists and allowing them to connect with the audience and the other panelists. Think of these as a warm-up to get the conversation flowing more naturally before the more complicated questions are asked.

Examples of personal questions to ask during a panel discussion include…

• Can you share a personal story or experience that led you to your current work?
• What inspired you to enter this field?
• What’s the most surprising thing about your work?
• What do you see as the most exciting trend in your area of expertise?
• What practical advice would you give to someone just starting in this field?

Thought-Provoking Questions

These questions challenge panelists to think a bit more deeply about the topic and can spark interest from the audience (i.e. have them engage with thinking how they might answer the question if someone asked them).

Examples of thought-provoking questions to ask during a panel discussion include…

• What emerging trend in this field do you believe will have the biggest impact in the next decade, and why?
• What is the biggest challenge facing [specific field/topic] today, and how should we tackle it?
• How do you see this issue intersecting with global challenges like climate change?
• What are the ethical considerations that we need to address in [topic/field]?
• What do you think we’ll look back on in 10 years and realize we were doing wrong?

Open-Ended Questions

Leaving space for open-ended answers can encourage more detailed responses from your panelists and support multiple viewpoints. Instead of asking for a specific “thing” or whether a speaker disagrees or agrees with something, these questions allow for nuance.

Examples of open-ended questions to ask during a panel discussion include…

• How do you see this issue evolving over the next few years?
• How has [specific trend or technology] changed the way you approach your work?
• How should organizations adapt to better meet the needs of [specific audience]?
• What would success look like for [topic/initiative]?
• If you had unlimited resources, what project would you pursue?

Follow-Up Questions

A moderator can use these to dive deeper into panelists’ responses and further explore the underlying ideas or interesting points that come up in conversation. These require the moderator to be more engaged in the panel and somewhat knowledgeable about the topics of discussion.

Examples of follow-up questions to ask during a panel discussion include…

• Can you elaborate on that point?
• What are the practical implications of this finding that you’ve mentioned?
• If someone wanted to learn more about that, where would you suggest they look?
• That’s a unique perspective. Have you ever had anyone challenge you on it?

Controversial Questions

When appropriate, these questions can stimulate interesting debate by centering the discussion around more sensitive (or even divisive issues). It’s important to make sure the moderator and the panelists are comfortable with this type of debate before the panel begins.

Examples of controversial questions to ask during a panel discussion include…

• What’s a commonly held belief in this field that you strongly disagree with, and why?
• If you could debunk one common myth about your work, what would it be?
• What would you say to critics of [specific aspect of the field/topic]?

Closing Questions

This category may overlap with the types of questions above. However, the focus here is to get the panelists and the audience focused on what they can take away from the session. Try to encourage quick answers and center on applying what has been learned.

Examples of closing questions to ask during a panel discussion include…

• What is one key takeaway you hope the audience leaves with today?
• What question do you wish more people would ask about this topic?
• What’s one piece of advice you would give your younger self when starting in this field?
• What role can the audience play in driving change in [topic/field]?

How to Craft Memorable & Impactful Panel Questions

Creating a great set of questions for a panel takes time and a strategic approach. Follow these steps to give your panel the best shot at sticking in your audience’s minds:

1. Establish the Goal of the Panel

Clarify with your organizing team and/or moderator what the discussion is aiming to achieve. Are you exploring new research findings, actively solving problems, or inspiring opportunities for collaboration? The goal of the discussion should guide how you draft your questions, as well as who you ask to sit on the panel. So, focus on this first.

2. Conduct Thorough Research

Before drafting questions, it’s important to understand the panelists you’ve invited and their perspectives. You should also have a basic grasp of the subject matter and a good idea of who will be sitting in the audience of the panel. All of this info will help you ensure your questions are relevant to the viewers and informed by the current research.

Great moderators fully understand the context of the discussion that they are guiding. The more familiar you can be with the topic, the better, especially if the audience members are likely to know quite a bit as well. Other topics to research could include: reading reviews of the speakers’ published pieces, finding updates on trends in the industry, or finding relevant blogs on the topic.

3. Regroup & Align with Speakers

While recruiting panelists, discuss the goals of the session with them. This alignment will ensure everyone is prepared and on the same page. They may even give you good ideas for questions during early discovery interviews with them. So, keep an ear out.

4. List Potential Panel Questions

Start by brainstorming a wide range of questions that cover the session’s key themes. Allow the ideas to flow freely and write everything down that comes to mind (it may even be helpful to start this process during the research phase - as questions are likely to be inspired by that research). Don’t worry about how questions are phrased or what order they’re in at this stage. Just get them on the page. You can do the refining in later stages!

5. Organize and Sequence the Questions

Look at your list of questions from the last step and begin to arrange them in logical order. A good strategy is to follow this sequence:

1. Personal/Ice-breakers: Start with light, personal questions to put the panelists at ease and engage the audience.
2. Thought-Provoking/Open-Ended/Controversial: Transition to deeper questions that spark discussion, invite diverse perspectives, or address key challenges in the topic.
3. Closing/Takeaways: End with reflective or summary questions that encourage panelists to share actionable insights or final thoughts.

This order mirrors the flow of a natural conversation and helps maintain audience interest throughout the discussion.

6. Craft a Strong Opening and Closing Question

From your list, pick your strongest opening and closing questions. Then think about them both in depth: What is the approach for each? Who will be the first panelist you ask for each? The first panelist to speak will have a big impact on the tone of the rest of the panel, so it’s important to consider that in your planning.

For your opening question: Think about what might be the most engaging, yet straightforward one. How do you want to set the tone for the rest of the discussion? 

For your closing question:  Think about how to end the discussion in a meaningful way. Make this final question brief so that the panel doesn’t ramble on for several more minutes. Don’t forget to make a note to thank your speakers and audience after the final question.

7. Review and Refine the Questions (and Save Some for Backup)

Narrow your list of questions down to around 2-3 questions per panelist (depending how much time you have). Don’t delete the others! It’s worth keeping a list of backup questions just in case the audience isn’t as curious as you’d hoped or the discussion runs much faster than expected.

Polish the questions that are left for clarity, relevance, and variety. Make sure the audience can easily understand them and that you know why they should care about the answers to each. If possible, ask a friend or colleague to review the list of questions and give some feedback.

8. Plan for Audience Interaction

Incorporate questions or moments that encourage audience input. Running live polls or allowing questions via Q&A platforms are both great ways to do this. If great questions come in from the audience, be prepared to sacrifice some of your planned questions in favor of the Q&A. “We have a question from the audience” is a sure hook to keep people interested in the session and feeling like their input matters.

9. Host a Tech Rehearsal & Pre-Panel Discussion

If possible, run through the planned questions with your panelists in advance so they have a bit of warning about where the discussion will go. Ask if they have any questions or concerns about the list that you’ve presented, and do your best to understand what type of discussion they’re comfortable with (i.e. debate or friendly or a mix).

Creating Inclusive Panel Discussions and More Accessible Interactions

Offering options for virtual event attendance, live transcripts, and closed captioning can ensure that your panel discussions are more accessible to all participants. Recordings with translations after the event can also support learning and inclusion for groups beyond the language your panel was hosted in.

In general, a moderator can keep the discussion inclusive to a variety of audience members by remaining neutral (i.e. avoiding taking sides and respecting the perspectives of all the panelists equally) and mixing in audience questions throughout the panel. Using engagement tools like polls and Q&A can make everyone feel like they’re a part of the conversation.

Fast Answers to Your Panel Discussion FAQs

• How can I encourage audience engagement during a panel discussion?
  Use live polling, Q&A tools, or audience shout-outs to make the discussion interactive. Conference management software can help with this.
  
  
• How can I avoid common pitfalls in panel discussion moderation?
  Prepare thoroughly, keep questions concise, and tactfully redirect off-topic responses.
• How can I handle off-topic questions?
  Acknowledge the question, tie it back to the main topic with an important takeaway for the audience, or address it briefly before refocusing.
  
  
• How can I ensure all panelists feel heard and respected?
  Balance speaking time, actively involve quieter panelists, and validate all contributions.
  
  
• How can I formulate engaging questions for a diverse audience?
  Consider the audience’s backgrounds and craft questions that resonate across different perspectives. Review your questions with a variety of people before that panel.

Conclusion: Driving Meaningful Discussion

A well-executed panel discussion can transform an event from ordinary to extraordinary. By prioritizing thoughtful preparation, crafting impactful questions, and fostering inclusivity, moderators can create a space for meaningful dialogue that resonates with both panelists and audiences. 

Whether virtual or in-person, a successful panel hinges on a balance of guiding conversations with great questions and encouraging audience engagement. With the right approach and a commitment to thoughtful planning, your next panel discussion is sure to be a highlight of your conference program.

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