Voice and music in headphones: finding the balance

Speak as if to one person

With speakers we tend to project the voice to reach the back. In headphones there is no need: everyone hears you up close. Lower your tone, slow down, leave room for pauses. Many teachers find that the same class, spoken more softly, becomes more focused.

The microphone: close, but to the side

A headset microphone leaves your hands free to demonstrate. Place it beside your mouth, not in front: that way your breath and harder consonants do not blow into it. Avoid touching it during class, because in headphones every rustle is heard.

Music goes underneath, not alongside

The simplest rule: the music should only be clearly heard when you stop talking. Set the music level on the transmitter or phone well below your voice, then let everyone set the overall volume on their own headphones.

Choose tracks without lyrics or with distant vocals: sung words compete with your cues much more in headphones than in a room.

Lower, do not stop

When giving precise instructions, lower the music instead of stopping it: a continuous background keeps the group inside the practice. For the final relaxation you can leave just the music, very low, or silence.

When to use the other channels

With three channels you can offer variations of the same class: a beginner version and a more intense one, or a translation into another language. At a yoga party, one channel can carry the class and the other two the DJs. Each channel needs its own transmitter.

If you guide meditations, read meditation and mindfulness in headphones too.