Meetings and Conferences

If possible, try to organise the meeting in a U shape, or around an oval or round meeting table. If you lip-read, ensure that you sit with your back to the window or any other light source so that you can easily see the faces of other people.
It is very helpful if a secretary or one of your colleagues takes notes during the meeting. This will ensure that you properly understand all discussions.
The person chairing the meeting must remind all participants that they must speak in turn, and he/she must indicate how the meeting is progressing by crossing items off the agenda which have been discussed.
When possible, request that participants use visual aids to demonstrate the points discussed.

If reverberation or background noise is disturbing you, you can use an FM system to aid listening. You can also use an additional accessory such as an omnidirectional microphone in the middle of the table. In this case, the voices of persons sitting around the table are captured by the microphone and sent directly to the FM receiver connected to your processor.
Some FM systems have a directional microphone that encourages voice recognition when it is pointed in the direction of the person who is speaking.
Some background noise can be so disturbing that it can prevent you from properly understanding. For example, the noise made by a projector. In this case, don't stay sitting next to it and "don't suffer in silence! ". Explain the problem, and ask to sit somewhere more convenient in relation to the speaker and the projector. You can request that the speaker does his/her presentation completely and that questions be asked at the end, when the projector has been switched off.

TIPS FOR A PROFESSIONAL INTERVIEW

To prepare for a professional interview, ask your future employer to provide you with the list and functions of people who will be present at the interview.

Request an interpreter, if you need one.

On the day of the interview, take your FM system and its accessories. Ask attendees to pass the transmitter and the microphone when they are asking you questions. Check that the FM system is working properly a few days before the interview.

Congresses

Congresses often take place in obscure auditoriums and it can be tiring, in these conditions, listening to presentation after presentation.
One of the ways of improving this situation is to ask each speaker to wear an FM transmitter, or a combined audio-visual FM system.
This system includes a helmet worn by the speaker that is equipped with a miniature camera and a microphone. The picture of his/her face is transmitted onto a small screen or a laptop computer that simultaneously receives auditory and visual information. This system is very useful if you lip-read. It is compatible with most FM receivers currently available in the shops.
However, minimum lighting conditions are required to be able to use it.
It therefore seems a good idea to contact the congress technician before the conference starts and request that the speaker's stand be lit so that faces are visible.