TELE-CONFERENCING

 A teleconference is a telephone meeting among two or more participants involving technology more sophisticated than a simple two-way phone connection. At its simplest, a teleconference can be an audio conference with one or both ends of the conference sharing a speaker phone. With considerably more equipment and special arrangements, a teleconference can be a conference, called a videoconference, in which the participants can see still or motion video images of each other. Because of the high bandwidth of video and the opportunity for larger and multiple display screens, a videoconference requires special telecommunication arrangements and a special room at each end. As equipment and high-bandwidth cabling become more commonplace, it's possible that videoconferences can be held from your own computer or even in a mobile setting. One of the special projects of internet is to explore the possibility of having teleconferences in which all participants actually appear to be in the same room together. 

 LETS RUMMAGE THROUGH THE HISTORY! 

Today's audio teleconferences are sometimes arranged over dial-up phone lines using bridging services that provide the necessary equipment for the call. In 1844, Samuel Morse sent the first telegraph. This moment forever changed the way we communicate, and kick-started the history of conference calls. The technology worked by transmitting electric signals over a wire which connected two stations. In the first instance, the message travelled from Washington D.C. to Baltimore. A telegraph line was installed between the USA and Europe. Communication between the continents became infinitely easier. The same philosophy that underpinned these innovations is at the heart of this history of conference calls: a deeply-held belief that collaboration and communication are positive and empowering. Morse and his colleagues wanted to make sure people around the globe could stay in touch. Others picked up this worthy cause and propelled conference call history. Not very long after the telegraph came the invention of the telephone, a key step in the history of teleconferencing. In fact, the idea of a telephone preceded the telegraph. A bright Italian thinker, Antonio Meucci, is said to have invented the first basic phone way back in 1849. Just five years later a Frenchman, Charles Bourseul devised another phone. It was then in 1876 that the man whose name probably springs to mind made his famous technological offering. In that year, Alexander Graham Bell won the U.S. patent for the telephone. The following year, construction began on the first telephone line. The first switchboard was soon created, and it wasn’t long before the first telephone exchange took place. In just three short years, almost 49,000 telephones were in active use! Clearly, this was a revolutionary and popular technology. The philosophy of communication and togetherness that pushed forward the telegraph remained strong. People loved the convenience of being able to speak to friends, family and colleagues without having to travel long distance. It doesn’t take much to see that this is the foundation for the history of conference calls. If you’re wondering when conference calling started, it was over a century ago. The earliest conference call is said to have happened way back in 1915. It was once again our friend Alexander Graham Bell. Astoundingly, it crossed the whole of America. The call was reportedly a celebration of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It was between New York and San Francisco. As the Exposition was a celebration of technological and cultural achievements, this world-changing call was certainly fitting. It was also a highly public event. Initially the call was between Bell and his assistant Watson. Then a series of dignitaries joined the call. You see how this is pivotal in the history of conference calls! The mayors of San Francisco and New York both joined in, and even President Wilson from the White House. Back then, it took about 10 minutes to even connect the call. And in just three minutes of being on the line, the call cost $20.70. That’s around $500 in today’s money! Luckily, nowadays you have services which offer genuinely free conference calling. No more spending hundreds on your audio meetings! Now we’re thinking about conference phone technology. In layman’s terms, a conference call provides a platform for many people to connect to each other whenever there is need to discuss something. The earliest instance of a special device used specifically for phone conferencing may be the Jordaphone invented by Asen Yordanoff, a Bulgarian, in 1945. It was a wireless device that could transmit the voice on the regular phone to a loudspeaker so that many people could hear the person on the other side. In a sense, then, it’s a key piece in the history of conference calls and the history of conference call technology. After all, this Jordaphone surely prefigures today’s popular conference call phones. Bell Labs was the first to work on the concept of telephone conferencing around 1956. Then it was in early 1960s that American Telephone and Telegraph dabbled with teleconferencing. The device used was the Picture phone. It was publicly exhibited in 1964 at the New York World’s Fair. Visitors could speak to people with the help of this device. It needed three phone lines to manage video and audio, with a picture appearing on a very small screen every 2 seconds. It was a very expensive and bulky device. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t find much support in the corporate world. The early 70s saw the introduction of relay chats or IRC. With a few nifty developments and tweaks ,this developed into the Instant Messengers popular today. Digital communications brought about a revolution in teleconferencing services and shaped the history of conference calls. A voice conference is now much more than three or more people connected together on a single phone call. A conference bridge allows a number of people to dial independently to a teleconference. The earliest conference bridges carried analogy signals and had a limited processing capacity. Modern conference bridges have nearly a thousand ports. With them, a number of electronic conferences can be conducted simultaneously. Audio meetings have really changed the world. They’re incredibly useful for businesses, but their potential beyond the world of business is almost infinite. The money, thought and time given to developing relevant technologies and continuing the history of teleconferencing is testament to its ubiquity and utility. We’ve even developed into web and video conferencing, with useful and innovative digital features. Nevertheless, telephone conferencing arguably remains the most reliable and accessible option. After all, you can easily dial into conference from any mobile or landline. And even with voice conferences, there are loads of new features. Things like custom branding ensure your company’s conference calls leave a lasting impression. Useful moderator controls will make your calls smooth and efficient. To see how far the history of conference calls has come, and check out what would be best for you, have a browse of our different plans and features. Teleconferencing has really come a long way, and you can be part of its rich history. 

 PROS AND CONS OF TELECONFERENCING

   One of the major advantages of teleconferencing is its potential to reduce the cost of group meetings. Savings come primarily from reduced travel costs. 1. Attend a business meeting hundreds of miles away without leaving your office 2. Reduce travel expenses 3. Reduce travel time requirements 4. Schedule meetings minutes ahead of time instead of days or weeks . While teleconferencing is characterized by many advantages, it does have disadvantages 1. Technical failures with equipment, including connections that aren't mad 2. Unsatisfactory for complex interpersonal communication, such as negotiation or bargaining 3. Impersonal, less easy to create an atmosphere of group rapport 4. Lack of participant familiarity with the equipment, the medium itself, and meeting skills 5. Acoustical problems within the teleconferencing rooms 6. Difficulty in determining participant speaking order; frequently one person monopolizes the meeting 7. Greater participant preparation and preparation time needed 8. Informal, one-to-one, social interaction not possible 9. To minimize some of the potential problems, users should carefully evaluate their meeting needs and goals to determine if teleconferencing is appropriate. Users should also assess their audience. For example, consider the size of the group, the level of experience with teleconferencing, and the extent of familiarity with each other. These precautions won't eliminate all the problems that could arise, but they should reduce the likelihood of their occurring. There are ways to prevent all these drawbacks and put an end to dreading that upcoming teleconference. Running successful teleconferences isn’t hard, as long as you follow a few simple guidelines. We may not want to be a part of a call if we don’t know what’s going to be discussed or why it’s important. 1.Share links and documents in advance An element of surprise would not help the chances of a productive teleconference. Sharing relevant documents and links will help people prepare in advance, and give them enough context. A person who has spent time going through these documents will ask better questions, and help drive the meeting beyond the basics.

 2. Be punctual If you want others to respect your time, you should respect theirs. Schedule the teleconference in your calendar, and if there’s a chance you won’t be able to attend, be sure to inform the team.

 3. Allow time for trouble You could hope for a perfect start to the teleconference, but that’s wishful thinking. Even when you ensure everything is fine from your end, things might still go wrong. Someone’s network might be poor, the internet connection might break, a team member might have a problem figuring out the conferencing technology, or someone important might get held up at the last minute. It could take some time setting remote users up, especially when they’re new to the platform. Allocate the first 10-15 minutes of the teleconference to setting everything up. If it is a part of the agenda, then everyone would know what to expect, leaving little scope for unexpected delays. 

 4. Take care of noise You do not want to hear a dog barking in the background when you’re trying to conduct a professional meeting. Any sudden background noise can interrupt people’s train of thought and the flow of the meeting. A busy cafe or any other noisy public space is certainly not a good option for a meeting. Even your workstation might not be the best bet if there are too many people around talking. If you’re at home, step into a separate room and shut the door. If you’re in office, step into the meeting room. If you’re a part of a video conference, it becomes all the more important to be in the right space as people can see what’s behind you! Whenever possible, wear headsets. Headset microphones will eliminate most background noise. They will help you clearly understand what is being talked about and what the other person is trying to say. 

 5. Introduce yourself before speaking If there are people who are new, it’s always a good idea to introduce yourself at the beginning of the teleconference. Knowing your name and your exact role in the company would help everyone understand your role in the discussion and ask you questions whenever required. If you’re in an audio call, then it’s vital to place a name on your voice. If there are more than five people attending the call, it’s a good idea to mention your name every time you put forth a point as everyone might not be able to get it in the first go. 

 6. Keep an Icebreaker Why do teleconferences have to be boring? If you are part of a large distributed team reconnecting after a month, or you have new people joining the call for the first time – it’s always great to start with a good icebreaker. It could be simple things like asking them to share a fun fact about themselves or if they would be a superhero, who would they choose? To make it more fun, you can ask them to send a picture of where they are taking the call from! 

 7. Stick to the agenda With a pre-defined agenda in place, you’re already off to a good start. But avoid extending the meeting by introducing items outside the agenda. It’s a bad habit to drag the call beyond the initially agreed duration. And if you do, it’s best to excuse participants who don’t need to be part of the extended discussion. 

 8. Clarify roles Attendees will be effective contributors if they know what their role in the discussion is. Do they have to only listen, give inputs or be a part of the decision making? If this is not stated clearly, then it’s a black box for them – which often leads to assumptions. If a person were to think he was involved in the decision-making process while he was supposed to simply listen, then it would cause frustration. If the purpose of your teleconference is to make a decision, then the decision-making rules should be shared with the attendees in advance, before the meeting. Roger Schwarz, in an HBR article on designing an effective meeting agenda, gives quite a good tip to make decision making organized if you’re the formal leader. You can say, “If possible, I want us to make this decision by consensus. That means that everyone can support and implement the decision given their roles on the team. If we’re not able to reach consensus after an hour of discussion, I’ll reserve the right to make the decision based on the conversation we’ve had. I’ll tell you my decision and my reasoning for making it.”

 9. Recording and feedback Minutes of the meeting are an effective way to document the important points discussed in the meeting and ensure everyone’s on the same page, including those who couldn’t attend the call. However, this can be time-consuming, so many companies just prefer to record the call instead. You can reference certain minutes to time brackets – allowing the person to obtain a detailed insight into a particular point and understand how/why a decision was taken, if they feel the need to know.It is always a good practice to let anyone know beforehand when the call is being recorded. People tend to waste less time, and are more mindful of what they say. No teleconference is perfect, and it’s important that feedback is taken from all attendees to take into account any problems faced. Only then can you take active steps to resolve them before the next teleconference. 

 VIDEO CONFERENCING TIPS 

If you’re choosing Video Conferencing, then do consider the following tips:

 1. Ensure you have a good Internet connection It is one of the most basic prerequisites, but still, something people commonly miss out on. The quality of your Internet connectivity is never going to be constant. Always be sure to check your Internet connection 15 minutes in advance to see if it’s sufficient to support a video call. If not, it’s best to stick to audio instead. 

 2. Be present in adequate light There is a difference between looking at your dark silhouette and looking at your bright smiling face. Keep a light source in front of you, not behind! 

 3. Be well-dressed You might think no one’s looking, or it doesn’t matter. But the fact is that it does! Where you are and how you’re dressed sets the tone of the meeting. You want to be taken seriously, even if you are working from home.

 4. Go easy on the eyes Whenever you display a presentation with text on it, ensure that the font size is adequately large. Many people might be sharing screens or attending the teleconference on small screens. Also, don’t scroll too fast – give people time to read. 5. Have an alternate way to connect There are times when you could get disconnected and might not be able to get back to using the same dial-in. It’s good to ensure you have a backup ready, just in case

Video Conferencing vs. Audio Conferencing – What Should You Choose?

With teleconferencing, the two options you have are audio and video. The choice depends primarily on the nature of the call. There is always a non-verbal aspect to communication which is not possible during audio calls – like conveying your thoughts with gestures and facial expressions. If you’re looking to have an important, engaged conversation with your team, or with a client, then video conferencing is a good choice. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection and you’re good to go. However, if you seek convenience for yourself and your team, then you should go for audio conferencing. You can be a part of it on the go, and do not need to worry about your appearance, or where you are taking it from – as long as there is no noise in the background. Audio conferencing is suitable particularly when you need to get on a call, have a discussion, and make a quick decision with everyone in your team on the same page. And remember – Just because it’s an audio call, it doesn’t mean you can’t use visual aids. There are multiple web conferencing options which allow you to share your screen while you’re on a call, like Skype, Join.Me, Google Hangouts and Zoom. In fact, all these tools allow you to switch between audio and video with a single click. Let’s take a look at them. 

 TELE-CONFERENCE TOOLS

 There are plenty of tools out there – both free and paid. Most tools can be used for both audio and video conferencing. You can switch between them just by turning your video on/ off. Here are four of the most popular ones: 

 1.Google Hangouts 

 Google Hangouts is one of the top two tools, simply because it’s integrated with Gmail and G Suite. It’s not a business app, but it’s a good alternative to a platform like Skype. The fact that it is integrated with your Google Accounts and doesn’t require downloads makes it a pretty good platform to try out for business teleconferencing as well. Pros: It is browser-enabled, so nearly anyone on any browser or device can start using this service. Its intuitive nature makes it a very easy-to-use tool. Voice and video quality are also great. Also, it’s free! Cons: It’s buggy and does not allow audio call recording. Also, the video quality often deteriorates if you are hosting more than five people. 

 2.Join.me 

 Join.me is a video and audio conferencing platform which allows you to set up a meeting online using the app, with features such as whiteboarding, screen sharing, one-click scheduling, a personal link, and much more. Pros: You don’t need a credit card, just your email ID to use the free version of Join.me. If you receive the link, then there are no downloads and no waiting – you can instantly join. You can also customize the meeting link and the meeting background. If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, you can use the whiteboard to sketch out ideas and proposals. Cons: The free plan can just host three people. If you have never used join.me before, it’s not too user-friendly to navigate. 

 3.Zoom 

Zoom is a teleconferencing platform with features like call recordings, meetings, video webinar, zoom rooms, business IM, and a Developer Platform to empower your apps with video, voice and screen sharing. Pros: The biggest advantage of Zoom is the ability to easily record calls. You can join meetings for free, and the platform is relatively easy to use. Screen sharing between the presenter and the guest is very simple. Participants can Instant Message during conferencing. Cons: In the free version, if there are 3 to 100 people in a meeting, then the meeting automatically ends after 40 minutes. You have to purchase the pro plan for unlimited minutes, along with other features like reporting, custom personal email ID, Zoom Rooms, Zoom Video Webinar and Premium Audio. 

 4.Skype for Business

 Skype for business is a teleconferencing solution for businesses, and is quite different from Skype (free one-on-one video/audio conversations) and Skype Meetings (up to 3 people in an audio/video conference for free). It allows up to 250 participants and enterprise-grade security. It comes along with MS Office apps, and is priced at $2 per user, per month. Pros: It is a good app when working from a business domain, and allows employees to be connected to each other. You can see when your contact is online, available, unavailable or offline. It can be used anywhere with an Internet connection on many types of devices, and the screen sharing and document sharing features are very easy to use. Users can record meetings easily, and if you miss out on an Instant Message, it gets delivered to you as an email. 

 Cons: There is no free trial available. You must pay more for additional features. For placing phone calls, you would need to set up a phone number and pay extra. There is an additional fee for Non-MS Office users as well. 5.247meeting Mobile is a conference call app for businesses and mobile professionals. The app enables users to hold an instant conference call on the go, without the need for a dial-in number, a pin code. It allows up to 100 participants and offers enterprise-grade confidentiality. 247meeting also provides screen sharing and video conferencing solutions. Pros: 247meeting Mobile is good for any business owner, C-level officer, or Salesperson who is always on the move meeting clients and business partners. It also suits high-profile managers, law firms and HR professionals concerned about someone eavesdropping on their confidential calls. The app offers the host more control over their call, by showing them at any moment who is participating, who is making noise on a line, mute or unmute them and even record the meeting. Cons: The app relies only on the telephone network. There are no screen sharing or video options.

 CONCLUSION 

Teleconferences are inseparable from business in today’s world because teams are becoming more globally distributed every single day. However, they can take up excessive time and energy if not organized and conducted well. These few tips that we just went over will make it easy for you to run productive online meetings.