What Makes a Good Lyrics Operator?

Call it what you will...lyrics op, presentation op, slide op, that dude at the computer that puts up the words for songs. That position can be just as hard as the audio position. I, being an audio guy more than anything else, do not say that lightly. Think about it. there are major correlations between the two:

-You can run audio minimalistically. It may not sound as good as if you put your heart and soul in it. Same with presentation.
-The audio guy is more likely to be noticed for a mistake than their excellence. Same with presentation.
-The best possible mix is produced only when you look at every little detail. Same with presentation.
-By changing one thing, like the eq or volume of a bass, you can change the mood of the congregation. Same with presentation.

I got these little glimpses this past weekend. For the first time in over 2 years of me working here, I got the opportunity last week to run the presentation software (ProPresenter4) during a service. Everything was already built and loaded so all I had to do was advance the slides.

Our services are on the traditional side and that means the presentation is usually a lot less in-depth than many contemporary services. This weekend was one of our more elaborate ones with multiple videos, pictures (what's a missions Sunday without pictures?) and of course, lyrics.

As I was running through everything, my mind kept coming up with qualities of a great presentation operator. I have been trying to narrow it down to my top three. I just want to say that these three qualities could be debatable and are my top three, not my only three.

#1-Focused
The operator must be able to focus. I am guilty of not following this. There was one extremely powerful point in the music where my focus started drifting from my duties. Before I knew it, I had begun singing along and missed a cue. I felt terrible. It was my responsibility to make sure those that didn't already know the words were able to follow along. With a mental slip, I could have very easily derailed someones worship experience. What did I learn from that? There is a time and place for me to be "in the moment" and that because I wasn't focused, there was a negative impact.

#2-Familiar
Ok. I'm going to break this up in to 2a and 2b.
2a: The operator should be familiar with the computer program. It has happened multiple times (thankfully, non too serious) that someone has been running the software and they accidentally hit a wrong key or they need to change something on the fly and they freeze. They get that bewildered look on their face and there is no self-recovery. After the fact, I learn that their training consisted of: "That arrow button goes to the next slide. That's all you need to know." The operator should have a firm grasp on the basics of the program before they are put in a pressure situation. Responsibility also falls on the shoulders of those training the operators.

2b: The operator should be familiar with the rundown of the service. Knowing the rundown will cut out a lot of awkward pauses, blank faces and missed cues. For instance, you pastor wants to run a video in the middle of his sermon. He can intro it by saying, "Here's a video." Or he could want it to be rolled when he says a certain cue. If the operator isn't made familiar with how the pastor wants it done, bad things can happen. Rundown familiarity leads to a proactive mindset instead of a reactive mindset. Being reactive is not good when you are leading the congregation.

#3-Musically Inclined
This is probably the most debatable quality I have ever thought of, but hear me out. Being musically inclined can be incredibly beneficial. Playing the trombone from middle school through college has given me enough knowledge about music to make me dangerous. My music abilities have definitely served me well in other tech areas. It came to serve me well again when I was running through lyrics for the worship set. I could pick out the musical phrasing and time my lyric transitions accordingly. It also made it easier (less choppy) for the congregation. It flowed. Knowledge of music phrasing also comes in handy when you are preparing the slides.


There you go, my top three qualities for the lyrics operator. Thoughts? Corrections? Your top three?