teleconferencing

Teleconferencing uses communications network technology to connect participants’ voices. speaker telephones are used for conference calls in many cases among the participants. A two-way radio system can also be used.

Benefits of teleconferencing:

- Reduce cost of group meeting. - Allows people to participate in worldwide meetings without actually leaving their office. - Meeting is more flexible (you can join a teleconference at any time). - Conference can be scheduled minutes or hours ahead of time instead of days or weeks.

Drawbacks of teleconferencing:

- Impersonal, less easy to create an atmosphere of group discussion. - Lack of familiarity with equipment. - Equipment/maintenance costs. - Communication is less productive. - Time zone differences.