Choosing a microphone

Please do not use your computer’s built-in microphone

Other options include using one of the following:

• An external microphone (use with headphones)
• A headset
• Wired earbuds
• A telephone

Use an external microphone if you have one. A dynamic mic will capture less room noise.

If you want to buy one, the Advent ADM16 desktop microphone (which plugs into the 3.5mm socket on your computer) costs about £9.

A starter microphone for podcasters, which plugs into the USB socket on a computer would be the Samson Q2U which costs about £90. We can make other suggestions as well depending on your budget and requirements.

If buying or borrowing a microphone is not a possibility then you could use a headset which would mean that you wouldn’t need separate headphones. Other options include wired earbuds that you use with a smartphone (but ideally not bluetooth ones as sometimes the connection can be tricky).