Proper Microphone for Indoor Use & Filter out Ambient Noise I'm working on creating some training videos that will cover a single presenter from the waist up, and I'm trying to avoid the microphone being visible while also getting good sound and avoiding ambient noise. If possible, I'd love the setup to be static so that it requires less repetitive setup (but that is a nice-to-have, not a requirement).

The setup for the shooting is a relatively small space (About 10 x 6), and the building is relatively close to an extremely busy street with fast/noisy traffic. As a result there is a lot of ambient noise from the traffic. I'd like to avoid as much post-production audio work as possible.

My question is: How do I go about selecting the proper microphone for this space?

I originally was thinking that a Shotgun mic would be appropriate since it picked up sound directionally, and that I could even potentially hang this microphone from the ceiling. However, the more reading I did indicated that the way shotgun mics work to reduce ambient noise is not effective indoors; and that specifically  in my small room setup its not likely to have the desired effect.

I've been browsing microphones on Amazon, but I don't know where to even begin with selecting the appropriate microphone. 

Are there certain microphone characteristics I can use to compare one microphone from the next to determine what is a good match? What other details do I need to know to make this selection?

I'm looking at spending up-to $200, but I don't want to spend money I don't need to if it won't make a significant difference.
My two suggestions are:


Use a lav mic and don't worry too much about a small mic being visible.  Training videos don't have to look like Downton Abbey.
Use a shotgun mic, but also use an acoustic absorber behind the talent.  It is true that all the ambient noise that comes through the walls will bounce around the room, and if you don't have an absorber behind the talent, the shotgun will "see" the echoes of the ambient noise coming from behind the talent just as much as it "sees" them coming from everywhere else.  But if you can deaden the back wall, the shotgun will "see" a quiet wall with talent in front of it and can filter the noises coming from everywhere else.  The closer you can get the shotgun to the talent (using a boom) the better.