When chatting with people through a headset, whether it’s a group chat, a video-game or a D&D session, there are several things to take into consideration. This is a MUST in order to maintain a good feeling for everyone involved. If you are finding yourself frequently in such a situation, please, invest in at least decent equipment. Good headsets are expensive, but changing your microphone habits is free of charge. Here’s a couple of tips that you might not know of, that can improve the experience of chatting with you.
Plug in, THEN connect
This is a really, really small thing, but please, PLEASE, plug in your microphone and head-set BEFORE you connect to the group chat. Connecting to the chat before you plug your audio-set in, cause the audio to crackle and pop. Now, that might not sound bad when you’re reading it, but in this case, it’s usually right into people’s ears (as they, likely, are wearing headphones). The closest comparison is at a concert, where the guitarist plugs his guitar into the amplifier, but instead of the speakers, it is right into your headset.
Microphone distance
Microphone distance is the distance between your mouth and the microphone. Depending on the microphone type, this distance can make a big difference. If you’re using a headset with a microphone arm (that you slide down in front of your mouth), you can’t really do much about this, so look through the other tips here, and see if there’s something else that you can do. If you are using an ear-phone headset (typically like the ones that you get when you buy a new phone) this distance is crucial, as these microphones are typically not of that great quality, and aren’t really designed for much more than a short phone call. So if you’re looking to play a +3 hour D&D session, you might want to reconsider your choice of microphone (of course, if this is the only microphone that you have, then it is better than nothing). Ear-phone microphones are usually attached to your shirt with a clamp, this typically means that the microphone distance has limited edit-ability. A part of the microphone distance is also if there is anything between you and the microphone, this is often the case with ear-phone microphones, as cloth can fold and move and block sound-waves to the microphone.
If you are using a tri-pod microphone (or other self-standing microphone, that isn’t connected to your headphones/speakers) getting the right distance can be a little more tricky. Blue, the creator of the Yeti Microphone, generally advice you to be around 40 cm (15.7 inches) away from the microphone, but it can often be hard to maintain this range, if you are to sit/stand at the same distance for longer periods of time. This distance also depends on your general volume of speech. If you’re in doubt about this, try reading the same 5-10 lines of text at different distances and/or volumes. The right volume and distance can be a bit hard to determine, but if you have a way of listening back to what you just read out loud, for example an audio-recording program, you can test how you sound. A general rule of thumb is; if you think you’re too loud, others probably agree.
You can use Audacity, which you can download for free here: https://www.audacityteam.org/
if you don’t have an audio-recorder to sit in your current computer.
Behind the scenes
When we go behind the scenes, people use microphones in, roughly, two ways; push-to-talk and just leaving the microphone on the entire time. Whether you use either is completely up to you, both work just fine. Push-to-talk often requires you to set a specific button, which, when pressed turns access to the microphone on, and until you press that one button, your microphone is considered as “muted”. The other options means that you just have to keep quiet, and this tip is for those of you who does this, in particular.
Depending on the type of microphone you’re using, the microphone will have it’s own set sensitivity, typically the higher quality of microphone, the higher the sensitivity. A high sensitivity means that the microphone is great for speech or even music, as it makes your voice sound closer to “the real you”. This in turn also means that your microphone is surprisingly better at picking up noises, even if they aren’t that close to the microphone. Keep this in mind, if you have to do other stuff while in the chat. You microphone is on, so things like eating and drinking can, potentially be picked up. The common courtesy is to actively mute yourself, so that no unwanted sounds sneak into your important business meeting, or your DnD session. If the chat have got a text format as well, you can always excuse yourself. This of course requires some understanding of when to leave the chat; timing is key.
When to talk (and when NOT to)
In a group chat you are not alone, this means that knowing when to talk (and when not to talk) is alpha and omega. Some people can naturally go off and talk for hours on end, some people just love to hear themselves talk and some people can be quite shy. This is why most group chats have some kind of moderator or chat “leader” (in DnD, it SHOULD be the GM). If that person is you, try and give everyone room and time to talk, some shy people remain shy throughout the entire thing, while others may “warm up” and get more into it after a while. Also make sure to keep people on track.
If you feel that the chat moderator isn’t giving someone enough time to speak, let them know in private after, if the overheard person is going to appear in ongoing chats, it could be important to make them feel more comfortable. In the same turn, if you are the moderator, listen to the people taking part both before and after, and take their requests into consideration.
Behind the scenes, part 2
Almost none of the people you’ll meet, have the perfect background setting (like an audio recording studio), and expecting people to have the perfect background for recording is unreasonable. Many streamers (on Twitch, for example) have sound-proofed their walls, which can help with noise reduction from other sources (if you live in an apartment-complex, or have thin walls). This can however prove to be a rather expensive (and even unnecessary) upgrade, and as I started this post off with; changing your microphone habits is free, I will try and give recommendations that won’t cost you a dime.
There are however a couple of things that you can at least consider. You can’t change how you live, obviously, but you can take some steps towards making the ordeal less of a bother for everyone else. For example, if you live with room-mates or someone else, and they are present, you need to tell them to quiet down. The most obvious solution would be to have different rooms, preferably with doors that are at least somewhat sound-proof, but again that isn’t always an option. In that scenario having an agreement with your room-mate(s) can make it a much more agreeable time for everyone involved.
Another thing that you can do is, depending on where you live, making sure that you can block sounds coming from the outside. Some people live near a busy street, some in an area with lots of grass-mowers. These are amongst the most common background noises when chatting with other people. Notice that microphone quality comes into play here as well, a “good” microphone will have a higher sensitivity, and thus be able to pick more sounds up.
The Food & Drink issue
We all know the problem; you’re set for a, possibly, several hour long meeting via head-set, it goes through one of your regular scheduled meal-times. So what to do? In general, food and eating does not go well with using a microphone, in particular a tripod microphone with a sensitivity. Using push-to-talk can, in this instance, be a temporary solution, but try and keep your mouthfuls small. Or, ask if the meeting can take a short break (you probably won’t get the time to cook and dine, but it gives an opportunity for a light meal, like a sandwich), after all, the others taking part in the meeting are human too. Some people can eat silently, but not everyone has that gift. Unfortunately a lot of people are, rightly so, triggered (read, annoyed) by the sound of someone slurping or sloppy eating. As mentioned a couple of times now; remember to think of the other people that you’re chatting with.
Drinks are a bit of a grey area, because while it is admittedly easier to drink quietly, than eating most types of foods, it is generally advised to, if possible, keep it away from the microphone. Some people, again, just can’t take sustenance in a quiet manner.
Do you have advise or situations that you wish to share regarding chatting through microphones? Let me know.
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