Megaphone Use Tips: How To Speak Effectively

Having the best megaphones on the market won’t be as effective for you if you aren’t using them appropriately. It’s as much about how you project your voice as it is the megaphone’s ability to amplify it. You’ll also want to be mindful of which direction you’re projecting it, and how it affects those around you. To that end, we’ve compiled our top four megaphone use tips we think you should know about operating yours.

Megaphone Use Tip #1: How To Hold Your Megaphone

This is one you may remember us discussing before. A megaphone should be held right in front of your face when you’re ready to use it. You want your mouth to be close enough to the microphone so that it projects as much of your voice as possible. This will allow you to gauge the appropriate volume for your megaphone, and will improve sound clarity.

You may feel tempted to hold a megaphone at arm’s length or farther away from your face to limit how loud you are, but that’s not recommended. When you do that, your megaphone is less likely to pick up enough of your voice to even be heard at all. You may also find that holding the megaphone this way can become uncomfortable or cause it to shake, which can also negatively affect voice quality.

Megaphone Use Tip #2: Speak Clearly

Enunciation is important with a megaphone. Shouting or speaking too quickly can cause your voice to become distorted, which completely defeats the purpose! It’s often better to slow the cadence of your speech, speak clearly, and keep an even tone to your voice.

Megaphone Use Tip #3: Watch Where You’re Pointing

While it’s important to hold the megaphone close to the front of your face, you don’t want it pointing directly at the people in your audience. This can project too much sound on them, which can be uncomfortable or even damaging to their hearing. Instead, consider pointing your megaphone slightly above them or off to the side to limit direction exposure. 

Megaphone Use Tip #4: Test Your Acoustics

This tip basically means that it’s a good idea to: understand how loud is loud enough, depending on your venue (indoor or outdoor); how well sound may or may not travel, depending on where you’re standing at that venue; the decibel range of your megaphone; and the number of people to whom you’ll be speaking. Don’t be discouraged if you find this requires more trial and error to get right. 

You can also speak to one of our knowledgeable megaphone specialists about their recommendations for how to use the models you currently own — or the ones we think you should purchase!

Selecting Your Next Megaphone

Now that you know how to use your voice properly, the next question is: do you need a new megaphone? 
ThunderPower has a full lineup of exceptional bullhorn options that you can check out here — or give us a call to discuss any questions you may have about choosing the right one to fit your needs!