There are many reasons why an instructor might choose to record a seminar or lecture: Perhaps there's a desire to provide lecture material for absent students. Maybe there's interest in developing a podcast for online instruction. Perhaps there's a desire to capture questions or feedback from the audience in real-time for later review.

Whatever the case might be, there are many ways to record speech, and the technology exists today to create a professional sounding recording without spending a lot of money.

A few years back a typical podium setup would include either the ubiquitous unidirectional microphone mounted on the podium or a lavalier (or lapel) type worn by the lecturer. The advantage to the podium setup is simplicity and excellent audio reproduction, the downside is the loss of mobility as the speaker is effectively tied to the lectern.

A wireless lavalier (or lapel) microphone is a better option for mobility or hands free operation, but the disadvantage here is that the speaker is the only one amplified. Lavalier microphones typically come in different polar patterns including omnidirectional, but the depth of field is reduced to eliminate ambient noise. When using a lavalier microphone it's virtually impossible to capture audio from the audience.