Making sure the speakers can be heard is essential to engaging the participants in the symposium. Be sure each speaker is familiar with how to work with the microphone system before he or she presents. Participants are further engaged when they can hear questions from other participants. Provide microphones as necessary on the floor of the auditorium for questions. If this cannot be done, you should remind your speakers to repeat audience questions so that everyone can hear them.
Many groups videotape their symposia for various purposes.
The quality and effort put into this process should reflect the intended use of the footage. If you intend to use your video as an educational tool that stands on its own, the video should be of high quality. This means that you will have to coordinate among a number of cameras, check for appropriate lighting and focus, and edit your footage. However, if you simply wish to review how a certain subject was covered or want to use the footage for an evaluation of speaker style, your preparation does not need to be as extensive. Even if this is the case, however, it is still important to set the video camera focus and sound appropriately.