Tips for Getting the Best Audio
Learn tips for how to get the best audio before you start recording.
The quality of your audio can impact viewers’ perception of your video, message, and brand. For example, if your audio level is too quiet, viewers may perceive the video as unprofessional or not hear your message clearly.
Here are five quick tips to help you get the best audio quality in your videos:
Tip 1: Use a USB Microphone in a Quiet Environment
USB Mic
Invest in a good-quality USB microphone. This will provide better sound quality than your built-in computer microphone. 
Noise
Background noise can impact your audio quality. Scan the room for anything that can produce noise, such as fans, computers, vents, pets, other people, notifications on your phone or other devices, outdoor noise, etc. Find anything that could produce noise and turn it off or move away from it.
Room Acoustics
Hard surfaces or certain environments can produce echoes or reduce the quality of your audio recording. To absorb some of the sound reflections, try recording in a carpeted space that has curtains or other soft coverings on the walls. You could also lay a blanket on the ground or add foam tiles.
Tip 2: Check Your Microphone Placement
The position of your microphone can greatly impact the audio quality. It is generally recommended to place the microphone six to eight inches from your mouth.
The exact placement depends on the type of microphone you are using.
A good rule of thumb is to use the distance between your pinky finger and thumb to position the microphone.
Test Your Voice and Mic Placement
Make sure to do a test recording to experiment to find the best placement and to ensure that your microphone is properly set up.
When you record the test audio, project your voice by speaking from the diaphragm, smile, and stand up or maintain good posture throughout the recording. Make sure to check the audio meter. You may also need to adjust the volume gain to avoid clipping.
Microphone Accessories
Microphone accessories can help improve the quality of your audio, such as:
- A Boom arm to control the microphone position.
- A foam windscreen or a pop filter to filter P and S sounds or plosives and breaths.
Tip 3: Embrace Mistakes and Keep Recording
Don’t let small mistakes derail your recording session. If an audio mistake occurs, pause for a few seconds and then resume speaking instead of stopping and restarting the recording. Small mistakes can be edited out later.
See Speed Up Editing with Audiate.
Tip 4: Record the Audio for Multiple Videos in One Session
If you need to record audio for multiple videos or projects, record a separate audio file for each video in the same sitting. Batching audio recordings into one session ensures consistency in your voice and recording environment across your videos.
Tips 5: Enhance Audio Quality with Audio Effects
After recording, consider applying audio effects in Camtasia or Audiate to help improve the overall audio quality in your videos. For example, the AI Noise Removal effect can remove background noise, such as fans and people talking in the background, when you can’t control your recording environment.
To apply an effect in Camtasia, select the Audio Effects tab and drag an effect onto the audio recording on the timeline.
More Audio Editing Tips
You can’t always count on the perfect recording environment or setup. Sometimes you may have to record in a noisy environment, or you may discover an issue with the audio post-recording.
Continue with our Recommended Audio Edits to learn how you can address common audio issues during video editing and production.
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