Phone Conferencing

Have you ever had the need to talk to more than one person at a time about the same matter even though they were in different locations? Well, if that has been your experience you will be able to appreciate how useful phone conferencing can be. Phone conferencing allows different parties to connect via phone lines at the same time by way of a conference call.

The distinction between phone conferencing and video conferencing is that the parties cannot see each other. The contact is verbal rather than visual. As with video conferencing however, the conversations takes place in real time and is heard simultaneously by all parties.

Telephone conferencing differs from a regular phone conversation in that more than two parties are usually connected. In fact, many persons or a large group can be connected via phone conferencing if the appropriate equipment is used.

Using a phone is a convenient way for persons to communicate without the additional expense and time of traveling to a meeting. It is suitable way of communication for businesses, professionals, students, teachers and others who wish to hold discussions around an established agenda or for some stipulated purpose. This way of communicating is useful for sharing ideas, giving progress reports as well as presenting and discussing information of interest to the different parties.

Effective telephone conferencing requires that all invitees be given prior notice of the conference. This includes information such as what time the conference call will be made in their respective time zones, who the other attendees are and the expected duration of the phone conference. As with a regular meeting, it is important that all parties are present and are aware of the time of the meeting and the subject matters to be discussed. This helps to maximize efficiency.

Successful telephone conferencing also requires appropriate and properly functioning equipment. In addition to this however, there may also be the need to have an operator to assist in making the calls, escorting the different parties to their calls and resolving quality problems such as dropped calls, static on the line or other issues which may compromise the objectives of the phone conferencing sessions.

In instances where there are no operators to assist, there are some special features associated with phone conferencing which are provided by companies specializing in phone conferencing services. Among these are record and playback, group mute/unmute, roll call, conference lock and global dial out. These features are promoted as making the task of conference calling easier and more efficient.

The scale of a telephone conferencing event can extend from a small meeting to a large and complex event linking many parties or groups worldwide. To make the telephone conferencing experience an effective and productive one, the organizer or operator can integrate features such as speaker identification and question and answer sessions. The integration of some of these features will depend on the size and purpose of the conference.

Telephone conferencing can present an economical, practical way of achieving the goal of linking persons in different places at the same time over the phone. It can promote efficiency, reduce cost and the time taken to travel around the country or internationally. Phone conferencing is a great way to conduct a meeting when the attendees are in different locations.