Yes, you should.
I see this come up from time to time. Someone is speaking to a group of perhaps 20 or 30 people, and wonder if they can avoid the internal awkwardness of using the mic, so they hold the mic to the side and ask “can you still hear me”?
Not wanting to be rude, people let them put the mic down and it’s worse for everyone. Unless it’s a crackly system or something, everyone can hear you more clearly if you use the microphone. I have a saying I often say in this situations if someone asks: “Always use the mic“.
There are a few other situations in life where you should just default to yes if you’re not sure:
- Should I use the restroom before we leave?
- Should I put on eye protection for this super quick cut?
- Should I wait for that truck to go by before I try to pull out?
In any of those cases you might be ok, but all of them are very easy to say “yes” to, with escalating downsides if you say “no” and things go wrong.
The microphone is a different beast, though. When you’re on it, and it’s something fairly rare for you, you hear your voice and you think you sound weird. It’d be so much more comfortable if you could just put the mic down and speak loudly instead.
Don’t.
Always use the mic.
