VIDEOCONFERENCING

Web and PC-based technology have enabled videoconferencing to acquire a greater presence in the business environment. No longer is videoconferencing restricted to large, high-technology centers. With the right camera hardware, software, and network environment, people can talk and see others in real-time over greater distances.

Videoconferencing offers many benefits. It enables faster communications, encourages greater teamwork, and reduces opportunities for misunderstandings. Videoconferencing, however, can never replace face-to-face communications. This is because the levels of intimacy and intuition that prove useful to meetings are impossible to achieve in a videoconferencing session.

for Using Videoconferencing

• Ensure that the technology exists at all locations.
• Use scheduled times for transmission.
• Recognize that videoconferencing is an inferior substitute for face-to-face communications.
• Keep the dialogue focused on the subject.
• Apply other technologies (e.g., whiteboards) to supplement image and audio transfers.