A poium (plural podia) is a platform that is used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many public speakers. Additionally, podium has commonly come to mean the object a speaker stands behind and sets papers or books upon, even when it is at floor level, though the proper term for that item is a lectern. The terms are not interchangeable.