Teleconferencing

While all among us are fully aware of the phenomenal invention called telephone and telecommunication up to a certain extent, most of us become flabbergasted upon confronting the word teleconference. Very few realize that teleconference involves two separate words tele and conference; it translates into a conference but from a distance. That takes care of the initial awe; however, if we intend to get a bit more technical, then, from the viewpoint of the telecommunication industry, we may define it as - the live exchange of information among persons and machines remote from one another through a telecommunications system. Initially, it was only the voice; however, modern technological advancements have now embraced audio, video and data services that provided businesses worldwide the ability to communicate with individuals, reaching whom physically was considered a big trouble formerly. In addition, not only businesses, the facility is now available for private usage as well, in the form of three-way calling - the most simplistic version of teleconferencing. Until now, we provided only half the account; fact remains that teleconferencing can also be conducted online, an alternative to the teleconferencing concept per se. That brings in web conferencing techniques and the Internet into the picture. Thus, a quick recap would follow as: A teleconference is a telephonic meeting similar to telephone calls with the capability to involve more than two people and uses the communications network technology to connect the participants.

The reason behind the growing popularity of teleconferencing is it has developed into a vital part of comprehensive public involvement strategy; however, to commence upon one, a prior planning is necessary to reap the maximum benefits in terms of participation and the exchange of ideas. An absolute necessity when participants have difficulty to attend a meeting because of being widely dispersed geographically, disability, or for some difficulties with mobility; it is also considered indispensable when specific action items deserving opinions are in question or an equal footing in planning and project development is required. Nevertheless, even teleconferencing has its own set of limitations; it can become quite a headache if a large number of people are involved in a single session. Thus, a one-on-one dialogue with a limited number of people is usually preferred; add to it the cost factor regarding equipment, varying sites for connections, transmission, and moderator training and it becomes clearer why the more the merrier doesn’t hold true in this case.

Teleconferencing is a time consuming process as well when the organizing part is considered. It is a lengthy process when it comes to establishing the technical links, site(s) identification and constituencies but it also does save time by cutting out the drawbacks of an in-person meeting. However, a teleconferencing can’t take place without the technicians and agency staffs who set up and coordinate meetings as well as a formal training to conduct a conference, else technical and management difficulties (e.g. poor coordination) may give rise to a whole lotta bluesy.

Though teleconferencing has opened up numerous opportunities till now, it has also eaten up the scopes for face-to-face contact between the participants and the advocators. This calls for extra care to make a teleconference reach its goals; taking proper measures in terms of management and technicalities can thus make a teleconferencing session a clear and manageable one, free from unnecessary wastage of both time and money.