You can do a fantastic virtual presentation, have a wonderful video recording. But if it’s got irritating background noises people will stop watching.

The single biggest reason it happens is because you didn’t even know it exists.

Watch the video to see how noisy your clothes can be, and what to do about it.

There are many reasons for background noise, it could be a bad microphone, it could be background noise from fluorescent tube lights, or it could be your heating system, a distant dishwasher, washing machine or fridge.

But have you ever considered the impact your movements—and your clothes—have on the audio? If you use a lapel (lavalier) mic you’ve probably thought about it, but did you test it?

Step one in preventing noisy clothes is to hear the noise. Step two is to remove it.

Testing the impact your clothes have on your A/V quality

To best way to check if you have a problem is to record a short video wearing exactly what you’re going to wear when giving your talk – and make sure you’re also using the same microphone.

While recording, wave your arms around to gesticulate. Do it with small motions and then with large ones. But don’t speak as that will mask the sound of silence << thanks, Simon and Garfunkel.

Once you have your recording, listen to it carefully with headphones on.

In my experience, the looser your clothing, the louder the noise will be, and surprisingly it doesn’t matter what type of mic you use. Even with a shotgun mic mounted a few feet away from you, the sound of your clothes rubbing on your arms and torso as you move will be audibly noticeable.

The solution is tighter clothes or less pronounced movements, the latter being a bad thing as you should always strive to be as physically active as possible to raise the energy level of your virtual presentations.

Watch the video and to see the difference between a t-shirt, a t-shirt with vest, and a jacket.

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