Whether you’re running a 30-person seminar or a 500-delegate conference, the AV setup makes or breaks the day. Here’s everything you need to know to get it right.
There’s a particular kind of dread that comes with being responsible for a conference. You’ve booked the venue, confirmed the speakers, sorted the catering, and managed a hundred other details. And then, two weeks out, someone asks: “Have you sorted the AV?”
The AV is one of those things that seems straightforward until it isn’t. A microphone that cuts out mid-keynote. A screen the back row can’t read. A video that won’t play. Any one of these things can derail a carefully planned event in seconds, and the audience doesn’t forget it quickly.
The good news is that conference AV isn’t complicated when you understand what’s needed and plan for it properly. This guide covers everything — the equipment, the room setup, the common mistakes, how to brief your AV company, and how to manage the day so things run smoothly from start to finish.
Why conference AV deserves more attention than it usually gets
Most event organisers spend the majority of their planning time on content, speakers, and logistics. The AV gets dealt with late, often as an afterthought, and usually with less budget than it deserves.
The problem with that approach is that AV is what delivers everything else. The speakers you’ve worked hard to book, the presentations your team has spent weeks preparing, the messages you want your audience to take away — all of it reaches the audience through the AV. If the sound is poor, the message is lost. If the screen is too small, the slides don’t land. If the tech fails, the momentum of the event collapses.
The Event Industry News has consistently reported that technical issues are among the top complaints from conference delegates. Not the content, not the venue, not the food. The tech. It’s worth taking seriously.
What AV equipment does a conference actually need?
The answer varies by event size, room type, and format. But most conferences draw from the same core set of equipment. Here’s what each element does and when you need it.
Sound and PA system
Sound is the foundation of everything. If people can’t hear clearly, nothing else works.
For a small conference of under 100 people in a standard meeting room or small conference suite, a compact active PA system with a pair of speakers is usually sufficient. The room is small enough that a relatively modest system fills it well.
For a medium-sized conference of 100 to 300 people, the system needs to be more substantial. Larger active speakers, dedicated subwoofers for better low-end response, and often delay speakers positioned further into the room to ensure the back rows hear as clearly as the front. A digital mixing console becomes important at this level, allowing the audio engineer to manage multiple inputs cleanly.
For a large conference of 300 or more people, a line array system is usually the right choice. Line arrays are designed to project sound consistently over long distances and across wide areas. They deliver even coverage from front to back in a way that conventional speaker setups struggle to achieve in large rooms.
You can read more about choosing the right system in our PA system hire guide, which covers every system type in detail.
Microphones
The microphone setup for a conference depends entirely on how the event is structured. Get this wrong and even the best PA system won’t save you.
For a single presenter at a lectern, a fixed lectern microphone or a lapel mic works well. A lapel mic is more discreet and allows the presenter to move freely. A lectern mic keeps things simple but requires the presenter to stay relatively close to it.
For a keynote speaker who moves around the stage, a wireless lapel mic is almost always the better choice. It gives them freedom of movement without compromising the audio.
For a panel discussion with multiple speakers seated at a table, individual gooseneck table mics or handheld wireless mics work best. Trying to manage a panel with a single microphone being passed along a table is slow and awkward and it shows.
For Q&A sessions with audience participation, you need dedicated Q&A microphones. Either floor-standing mics positioned in the audience area that people walk up to, or a roving handheld mic carried by a crew member and passed to people asking questions. The second option is more flexible and better suited to less formal conferences.
Our microphone hire page has more detail on every microphone type and when each one works best.
Screens and visuals
The screen setup is where a lot of conferences fall short. The most common mistake is a single screen that’s too small for the room, positioned in the centre of the stage where it’s partially obscured by the presenter standing in front of it.
Good conference screen setups typically involve two or more screens positioned either side of the stage so the presenter isn’t standing in front of the content. This gives the audience a clear view of both the speaker and the slides simultaneously, which is considerably more engaging than having to choose between the two.
For smaller rooms and presentations, projection is cost-effective and works well when the ambient light can be reasonably controlled. For larger rooms, rooms with strong ambient light, or events where visual quality is particularly important, LED screens are the better option. They’re brighter, sharper, and work in any lighting condition.
Confidence monitors placed on the floor of the stage facing the presenter allow speakers to see their slides and notes without turning their back on the audience. This small detail makes a significant difference to the quality of a presentation. Presenters who can see their content stay connected with the audience instead of turning around to look at the main screen.
For large conferences where some audience members are far from the stage, IMAG screens positioned at the sides of the room showing a live camera feed of the speaker ensure everyone can see facial expressions and body language, not just slides.
Read more about screen options on our screen and projection hire page.
Lighting
Conference lighting is often underestimated. Many event organisers assume the venue’s own lighting is sufficient. In most cases it isn’t, at least not for the stage area.
Stage lighting serves two practical purposes. It makes the presenter clearly visible from every seat in the room, and it ensures they look good on camera if the event is being filmed or streamed. A presenter lit only by the venue’s overhead house lighting often appears flat, shadowy, or washed out in photographs and video.
Dedicated stage lighting — even a simple front wash of LED profiles aimed at the presentation area — makes a significant difference to both the in-room experience and the quality of any recordings.
For conferences with a dinner or awards element at the end of the day, uplighting and more atmospheric lighting states can transform the same room from a conference environment to an evening occasion without moving anything.
Staging
A stage isn’t always necessary for a small conference, but for anything with more than around 50 or 60 people in the room, a raised stage platform makes a substantial difference to visibility. Even a platform height of 40cm ensures that people in the middle and back rows can see the presenter clearly rather than looking at the back of the heads of the people in front of them.
For conferences with panel discussions, a slightly wider stage with a dedicated panel table and chairs needs to be factored into the staging footprint. For events with multiple presentation formats throughout the day, the staging needs to work for all of them without requiring significant rearrangement between sessions.
Our staging hire page covers platform sizes, heights, and configuration options.
Additional equipment for larger conferences
Larger conferences often need equipment beyond the core AV setup.
Breakout room AV — if your conference uses separate rooms for smaller sessions running alongside the main programme, each of those rooms needs its own AV setup. This is often underplanned. Breakout room audio quality matters just as much as the main room.
Event recording is increasingly common. Having a clean recording of keynote sessions and panels gives you valuable content to share after the event. This requires dedicated recording equipment and someone managing it throughout the day, separate from the live operation.
Live streaming for remote delegates has become standard practice since hybrid working became normal. If any of your audience is joining online, you need cameras, encoders, a reliable internet connection, and someone managing the broadcast. This is a parallel production running alongside the live event and it needs to be planned and resourced as such.
Our live streaming and hybrid events page covers everything involved in streaming a conference properly.
Room setup and layout
The physical setup of the room affects the AV significantly. These are the main things to think about.
Audience layout
Theatre style — rows of chairs facing the stage — is the most common layout for conferences. It maximises capacity and is well suited to presentation-led formats. The trade-off is that it can feel passive, particularly for longer events.
Cabaret or classroom style — small tables with chairs facing the stage — works well for events that mix presentations with discussion or workshop elements. It reduces capacity but increases engagement. It also changes the acoustic behaviour of the room, as people and tables absorb more sound than empty rows of chairs.
Boardroom or U-shape layouts are better suited to smaller executive conferences and working sessions where discussion is the primary format. These layouts require a different microphone approach, usually individual table mics rather than a single presenter mic.
Speaker placement
Speaker placement is one of the most important and most frequently misjudged elements of conference AV. Speakers need to cover the audience area evenly without creating feedback with the microphones on stage.
The further the speaker is from the microphone, the lower the risk of feedback. This is why speakers are almost always positioned in front of the stage, projecting back toward the audience, rather than on the stage itself. In larger rooms, delay speakers positioned further back in the audience area fill the rear of the room without needing to increase the volume of the front speakers, which improves clarity and reduces feedback risk considerably.
Screen positioning
As mentioned above, screens positioned either side of the stage rather than centrally behind the presenter are almost always the better configuration for conferences. Central screens look tidy but they create a choice for the audience between watching the presenter and reading the slides. Side screens eliminate that problem.
The bottom edge of a screen should be high enough to be visible from the back row. In a room with raked seating this is usually manageable. In a flat-floored room it requires the screen to be raised on a stand or flown from rigging, which needs to be factored into the planning.
Cable management
A well-planned AV setup is invisible. Cables run neatly under carpet, along walls, or through cable management channels. Trailing cables across audience walkways are a trip hazard and they look unprofessional. A good AV company plans cable runs as part of the setup, not as an afterthought.
Common mistakes to avoid
These are the things that catch event organisers out most often.
Relying on the venue’s house system without checking it first Venue-installed AV systems vary enormously in quality. Some are excellent. Many are old, underpowered, or simply not designed for the scale of event you’re running. Always ask your AV company to assess the house system before assuming you can rely on it. The conversation is worth having early, not on the morning of the event.
Not accounting for the room acoustics Every room sounds different. Hard floors and high ceilings create reverberant, echo-prone environments. Carpeted rooms with low ceilings are more acoustically dead. A reverberant room requires a different approach to speaker placement and equalisation than a dead one. Your AV company should ask about the room before specifying equipment. If they don’t, ask why.
Underestimating the microphone requirements Events grow. A conference planned for one presenter at a lectern often ends up with a panel, a Q&A session, and a few last-minute additions to the programme. Think through the full run of show when you’re planning the microphone setup, not just the opening keynote.
Leaving the AV booking too late Good AV companies with quality equipment and experienced crew get booked well in advance. Friday and Saturday dates in London, particularly during corporate event season in November and December, fill up months ahead. If your conference date is fixed and important, sort the AV early. Late booking limits your options and sometimes means compromising on quality.
Not doing a technical rehearsal A technical rehearsal before delegates arrive is one of the most valuable things you can do. It’s the opportunity to test every microphone, run every video file, check every slide transition, and find any issues while there’s still time to fix them. Events that skip the rehearsal are the ones most likely to encounter a problem in front of an audience.
Giving presenters their microphones without a briefing Presenters who’ve never worn a lapel mic before need a two-minute briefing on how to wear it correctly, how to hold their head when speaking, and what to do with it during a break. It sounds trivial. A microphone worn incorrectly, or a presenter who taps it repeatedly to check if it’s working, creates problems that are hard to manage from the audio desk.
Not having a point of contact on the day The AV team needs one person they can go to quickly if a decision needs to be made or something changes. If that person is also managing fifteen other things simultaneously, communication breaks down. Identify a dedicated AV liaison before the day and make sure the AV team knows who they are.
How to brief your AV company
The quality of your brief directly affects the quality of the quote and the result on the day. Here’s what to cover.
The venue Name, address, and as much detail as you can get. Room dimensions, ceiling height, floor surface, ambient light levels, load-in access and timing, power supply, any restrictions on sound levels or rigging, and whether the venue has its own AV infrastructure you can or can’t use.
The format Walk through the event from start to finish. How many sessions? How many speakers per session? Is there a panel? A Q&A? A networking break? Awards? Entertainment? Video content? The full run of show helps the AV company understand what the system needs to do throughout the day, not just for the opening keynote.
The headcount Your realistic estimate of the number of people in the room. This drives equipment sizing. A room set for 200 but likely to have 300 delegates in it by midday needs to be planned for 300.
The timeline When can the AV team access the venue to set up? When do the first delegates arrive? When does the event end? When does the venue need to be cleared? Setup time and breakdown time need to be factored into the overall event schedule.
The content What format are the presentations in? Will presenters use their own laptops or a shared conference laptop? Is there video content and what format is it in? Is there audio in any of the videos? Are there any live demos that require internet connectivity? These details affect how the technical setup is configured.
Any streaming or recording requirements If any part of the conference is being streamed or recorded, this needs to be in the brief from the start. Streaming and recording require additional equipment and crew and they affect how the whole AV setup is designed.
The budget Being clear about budget upfront leads to a better outcome. A good AV company will tell you honestly what’s achievable within your budget and where to prioritise. Without a budget figure, you risk a quote that misses the mark in either direction.
The Meetings Industry Association publishes useful guidance on event planning best practice, including how to work effectively with technical suppliers, which is worth reading if you’re organising a large conference for the first time.
Managing the AV on the day
Even with the best planning and the right AV company, the day itself requires active management. These are the things that make the biggest difference.
Build in enough setup time AV takes time to set up, cable, test, and tune. A complex conference setup might need four to six hours of build time before the first delegate arrives. A simple setup might need two. Factor this into your venue access booking and don’t assume the AV team can set up in the same window as the room dressing and catering.
Do a full technical rehearsal Run through the event with the AV team before anyone else arrives. Test every microphone in every position it will be used. Play every video file from the actual laptop that will be used on the day. Run through the slide deck for each session. Check the Q&A microphone setup. Find the problems now.
Get final files in advance Presentation files, video content, and any other media should be with the AV team the night before at the latest. Running changes on the morning of the event is stressful and increases the risk of file compatibility issues. Set a hard deadline for final versions and stick to it.
Brief your speakers on the AV A two-minute conversation with each speaker before they go on stage makes a significant difference. Tell them where to stand for the best lighting and visibility, how to use the microphone, where the confidence monitor is and how to use it, and who to look at if they have a technical problem during their presentation.
Trust your AV technician If your audio engineer asks a speaker to adjust their microphone position, or asks you to hold a session for two minutes while something is checked, trust them. They’re managing the technical picture in real time and they can see things from the audio desk that aren’t obvious from the audience.
Have a contingency plan Good AV companies carry backup equipment. But it’s also worth having a simple contingency in mind for the things you can’t control. What happens if a speaker’s laptop fails? Is there a backup laptop ready? What if a session runs significantly over time? How does that affect the AV schedule for the rest of the day? Thinking through these scenarios in advance means you’re not making decisions under pressure if something unexpected happens.
Conference AV by event size: a quick summary
Under 100 people A compact active PA system, one or two microphones depending on the format, a single projection screen or large format display, basic stage lighting if the room needs it, and one AV technician to manage the day. Keep it simple and make sure it’s right.
100 to 300 people A mid-range PA system with delay speakers if the room is deep, multiple wireless microphones, two or more screens positioned either side of the stage, confidence monitors for presenters, dedicated stage lighting, a staging platform, and an experienced audio engineer on-site throughout. Consider recording the event.
300 people and above A line array system designed for the room, a full microphone inventory covering all presentation formats including audience Q&A, multiple large format screens or an LED video wall, IMAG cameras for large rooms, full stage lighting with intelligent fixtures, substantial staging, and a full crew covering audio, lighting, and video. Live streaming is worth considering at this scale. Plan the build day separately from the event day.
Getting the AV right is simpler than you think
Conference AV feels complicated because there are a lot of moving parts. But the underlying principles are straightforward. Good sound so people can hear. Good screens so people can see. Good lighting so the stage looks right. A crew that knows what they’re doing and a brief clear enough for them to plan properly.
Start early, brief thoroughly, do the rehearsal, and work with a company that asks the right questions before they quote you. Do those things and the AV will be the last thing your delegates are thinking about — which is exactly where you want it.
If you’re planning a conference in London and want to talk through the setup, get in touch with our team. We’ll give you honest advice and a clear quote based on what your event actually needs.
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AV Hire London provides professional audio visual equipment and full event production services for conferences and corporate events across London and the UK. From small seminars to large-scale multi-day conferences, we have the equipment and the team to make it work.