Zoom Sound Check for Presenters
Tip 3 from Ray Franklin, #PresentationCoachRay
Sound is the most important element of online communication.
If your audience can't hear you clearly, the rest of your work doesn't reach them.
Run these five checks on your computer before your session, in this order.
Open Zoom's audio settings
Open the Zoom desktop app. Click your profile picture, then Settings. In newer versions, click the gear icon. Then click Audio.
What you should seeA page with a Speaker section and a Microphone section.Set your microphone
Under Microphone, open the list and choose the microphone you plan to speak into. Then turn on Automatically adjust microphone volume.
What you should seeYour microphone's name in the Microphone box, and the Automatically adjust switch turned blue.Test it by listening
Click Test microphone. Say a sentence the way you'll say it in your session. Zoom plays your voice back to you.
What you should hearYour own voice, clear and steady. If it's faint, move closer to your microphone and test again.Keep "Noise removal (default)"
Look under Microphone modes. Zoom marks this one "Recommended for most users." It reduces background noise while you talk.
What you should seeNoise removal (default) is selected, and Background noise suppression shows Auto.Confirm your computer agrees
Windows 11: Start, Settings, System, Sound. Under Input, choose your microphone.
Mac: Apple menu, System Settings, Sound, then Input. Choose your microphone.
What you should seeThe same microphone name you picked in Zoom.
A starting point
Every room, microphone, and voice is different. These checks give you a clean place to start. The fine tuning is what we work on together.
Leave these alone
Original sound for musicians and Live performance audio are for music. Zoom recommends the first for studio environments and the second for meetings with multiple instruments or voices. Original sound turns off all noise suppression, so your keyboard and your room come through. Keep both off.
Checked against Zoom, Microsoft, and Apple support pages, October 2026. Menu names can change when Zoom updates. If your screen looks different, tell me what you see.