AV Walkthrough Checklist: 27 Things I Verify Before I Sign

I’ve sat through more keynote-day AV disasters than I’d like to count. Microphone goes dead three minutes in. Confidence monitor shows the wrong slide deck. Recording loses audio after the first ten minutes. The CEO’s lapel mic picks up the bartender’s tray clinking from across the room.

Every one of these had a root cause that was identifiable and preventable at the venue walkthrough. I am no longer the planner who says “they’ll figure it out” about AV. I am now the planner with a checklist.

This is the checklist. 27 items. Run it with the venue’s tech lead before you sign the AV portion of the contract. Most of the items on this list will not be in the venue’s “AV package” description. Most will only get answered if you ask explicitly.

If you want even more detail, my colleague Daisy wrote a piece on briefing venues that covers the broader contract conversation. This is the AV-specific version.

Section 1: The room itself (5 items)

1. Ceiling height at the deepest point

Why it matters: low ceilings limit projector throw, screen size, and PA placement. Get the actual measurement, not “approximately 12 feet.” Approximately 12 feet is sometimes 9.5 feet.

2. Width of the room at the stage end

For determining maximum screen + sidefill speaker layout. Measure to the inch. Most venues will give you a measurement off a floor plan if you ask.

3. Sound bleed from adjacent spaces

Walk the perimeter of the room with the venue tech lead. Have them stand outside any shared wall and play music at normal event volume. If you can hear them clearly inside, you have a sound bleed problem and need to plan around it (acoustic treatment, scheduling around adjacent events, or a different room).

4. The fixed-architecture audio quirks

Mirrors on walls, glass surfaces, hard ceilings, polished concrete floors all create acoustic echo problems. Identify them now so the AV team can spec accordingly. Some venues will need acoustic panels rented in.

5. House audio system (if any)

What ARE the speakers in the ceiling? Are they distributed (good for background music, bad for keynote)? Centered (good for keynote, less good for background)? Are they acceptable quality, or did the venue install speakers in 2007 that should have been replaced in 2014?

Section 2: Power and signal (4 items)

6. Stage power

How many amps available within 20 feet of the stage. AV setups for a corporate keynote regularly need 60-90 amps. Old venues that haven’t been retrofitted won’t have it.

7. Cable runs and rigging points

Where can you run cables? Where can you rig truss? “We can rig anywhere” is rarely true. Get the actual diagram of approved rigging points and approved cable paths.

8. Hardwired vs wireless network

For the streaming team, the recording team, the live-edit team. Wireless is fine for guests; for crew you want hardwired drops. Confirm count and location.

9. Cell signal in the room

Especially for sub-grade rooms (basement ballrooms). The keynote may need cell-based fallback if streaming fails. Walk the room with your phone and check signal in five places.

Section 3: The equipment in the AV package (6 items)

10. Microphone count and type

Number of wireless handhelds. Number of lavaliers. Are they all the same brand/system or a mix? Mixed systems are harder to manage and more failure-prone.

11. Microphone batteries

What’s the battery type. Are batteries fresh on the day. Some venues “include” batteries but use the same set across multiple events without changing them. Ask explicitly: “Will all wireless mic batteries be replaced with fresh ones the morning of our event?“

12. Speaker count and coverage

For the room size and shape, what speakers are deployed where. Is there sidefill for guests at the back? Front-fill for the front row?

13. Projector type, lumen rating, throw distance

A 6,000-lumen projector is barely visible in a bright ballroom. You want 10,000+ lumens for a real keynote. The throw distance matters because it determines image size relative to the ambient light.

14. Confidence monitor for the speaker

The little screen at the speaker’s feet that shows the current slide. Is it included in the package? Or extra labor?

15. Audio recording

Are you recording the audio? In what format? Where does it get stored? Some venues “record” to a single channel that includes ambient room noise. You want a clean mix from the board.

Section 4: The team (5 items)

16. Will the tech lead be physically present in the room

The whole event. Not “checking in periodically,” not “available by radio.” Physically in the room.

17. How many AV crew

For a 200-person keynote with a 4-camera recording, you need at least: 1 audio engineer, 1 lighting board op, 1 video switcher, 1 floor manager, 2 camera ops. That’s 6. If the venue says “we’ll have 3 crew” that’s not enough.

18. Who’s the backup if the lead gets sick the day before

Real question. Get a real answer. The venue should have a name, not “we’ll figure it out.”

19. What’s the rehearsal time

Most corporate events need a 2-3 hour speaker rehearsal the morning of. Is that included? Or extra labor?

20. What time does crew arrive for setup

For a 6pm event, AV setup typically begins 12pm or earlier. Some venues ALSO charge labor for setup time outside the contracted event window.

Section 5: The handoff and contingencies (4 items)

21. Backup mic strategy

If the keynote mic dies mid-talk, what’s the recovery? Best practice: a second wireless mic on the speaker as backup, plus a handheld within reach. “We have a spare in the back” is not good enough.

22. Backup projector

For a high-stakes keynote, you want either a backup projector or a redundant signal path to the same projector. Single-projector failures kill keynotes.

23. Power redundancy

If the venue’s power flickers (and Atlanta venues, for example, do flicker more than you’d think), what’s the runtime on the AV battery backups? Is the audio board on UPS? Is the recording on UPS?

24. Storm / weather contingency for outdoor events

If it’s outdoors and the weather turns, what’s the trigger to move indoors? Who decides? When? What’s the AV transfer plan? Who eats the labor cost of the AV move?

Section 6: The contract specifics (3 items)

25. What’s “included” vs what’s “labor”

Be specific. “AV package” almost always means equipment-only. Labor is separate. Get a clear breakdown.

26. Damage liability

If a speaker hot-mic’d a comment that ended up on YouTube and embarrassed your company, who’s liable? If a microphone gets dropped and broken, who pays? Read the AV section of the contract for these provisions.

27. Recording rights and access

Who owns the recording? When do you get a copy? In what format? On what timeline? “Within a week” can mean six weeks for some venues. Get the timeline in writing.

How to actually run this checklist

The first time you do this it’ll take 90 minutes. After two or three you’ll be at 45. I run it as a standing meeting with the venue’s tech lead, on-site, with a clipboard. I write down their answer to each question, in their words, and at the end I email them the list with their answers and ask for confirmation.

That email becomes the spec for the event. If something goes wrong on the day that contradicts what they confirmed, I have a written record. I have not yet had to use it as such, but I have had three venues spontaneously say “let me come back to you on #14, that one I want to double check,” and each time the answer the next day was different from their initial answer. The questions are the value.

A small story

Last summer I ran a 320-person product launch where the keynote was 22 minutes and was the centerpiece of the entire event. We did this checklist on the venue’s tech lead in advance. He flagged that #6 (stage power) was thin and recommended we bring in a generator for the AV rig. We did. Halfway through the event, the venue had a 4-second power flicker that took out the house lights. The AV rig — on the generator — kept running. The keynote continued without anyone noticing. The CEO did not realize anything had happened until I told him afterward.

Cost of the generator: ~$1,800. Cost of the keynote going dark on stage: incalculable.

“If anything happens that the audience notices, we’re done. Make sure nothing happens.” — that CEO at the morning rehearsal. Nothing happened. The checklist is why.

Run the checklist. Pay the generator. Sleep at night.

If you’re between AV vendors and the venue can’t provide what you need, you’re allowed to bring your own. Most venues will allow a third-party AV vendor with a small surcharge. Read the contract. If the venue blocks third-party AV entirely, that’s a flag — sometimes it’s because their team is great, sometimes it’s because they want to bill you for AV they couldn’t sell on a competitive RFP.

Either way: ask. Answer. Sign. That’s the order.

If you’re starting from scratch on a venue search, our directory of corporate event venues has filters for AV, capacity, and event type. Or browse conference centers with full AV packages to see options that are typically AV-mature.

AV is the line that hides the surprises. Surface them now.