Audio conference calling is an effective and affordable way to hold a meeting with a group of people that are unable to meet face-to-face. Audio conferencing requires the use of telephones and audio conferencing technologies to allow for multiple users to participate in one conference. Typical systems can handle two to fifty or so people, while larger, more advanced systems can hold ten thousand or more. One person acts as moderator, who controls or “chairs” the conference and brings callers in and out of the conference at will.
Meeting attendees often receive an emailed agenda with the conference overview, the designated number to call into and other information such as a PIN code. Once each call is made, the moderator is notified that someone else has joined the call. They introduce themselves before the moderator instructs participants on how to mute a call or push a button to ask a question. All callers are then muted so that the speaker can hold the meeting uninterrupted. Also, dialing in using a handset works best; speakerphones are discouraged as they distort sound quality. The call can then be followed by a Q & A session using a communication line that allows callers to ask questions or make comments. The moderator should then create a recap and send it to all participants. Audio conference calls can also be taped, transcribed, and archived for future use.
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Video Conferencing is a conference call that involves a live connection between people in different locales and usually involves audio and sometimes text as well as video. Video conferencing can transmit streaming video images and audio between multiple locations. It allows businesses to cut overhead by reducing the need for travel accommodations and can be used as a customer service tool, for instance. Video conferencing can facilitate teamwork among geographically distant colleagues and strengthen bonds among business contacts within and between companies. Users can also send and receive data, operate computers from distant locations, share programs, transfer files, and chat with co-workers.
The face-to-face connection video conferencing offers adds non-verbal cues such as body language to the line of communication and enables workers to form a bond with colleagues in other parts of the world. Video conferencing is effective in communicating with partners and clients around the globe without having to make costly travel arrangements or make multiple long-distance phone calls. Students can listen to lectures and receive training by instructors in various parts of the world.
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Web Conferencing is essentially a video conference via the Web, and requires that all users have high-speed internet connections on their computers. This allows for real-time communication in which multiple users, all connected to the internet, can view the same screen(s) at all times via their web browsers. Web conferencing can include features such as texting and full-motion streaming video.
Web conferencing allows participants to conduct business meetings and seminars, carry on demonstrations, make presentations, provide online training and tutorials, and offer interactive customer support, among other functions. Control of the conference can be transferred among any attendee so that multiple users can present information. Most personal computers have sufficient software to access web conferences through their existing browsers. As with audio and video conferencing, web conferences can be archived and accessed at a later date for review by absent colleagues.
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