Polar Pattern

Cardioid takes sound from the front and rejects the rear, which suits one person in an untreated room. Supercardioid narrows that further with a small rear lobe. Omnidirectional takes everything evenly, good for a round table and bad for a room with an air conditioner. Figure-of-eight takes front and back while rejecting the sides, which makes it the classic two-person interview microphone. Rejection is the part people overlook, and it is what buys you clean audio in a bad space. Point the null at the noise. With a cardioid that means the back of the microphone facing the window or the computer fan.