Teleconferencing is an efficient and hassle-free way to conduct a business meeting, primarily because you do not have to undergo the tedium of formal planning or even worse, travelling to a farther location. Most companies now prefer using a teleconference facility over flying great distances, since phone conferencing saves a tidy amount of money, which can be put to use to further develop the business. Most teleconferencing service providers offer an absolutely free calling facility. It is only sound business sense to use conference calls to set up meetings. Handled prudently, a phone conference business meeting is a great tool that can actually increase productivity.
Meetings over the phone
Most teleconference service providers ensure that a business agency gets to choose its own preferred mode of payment, thereby allowing customisation. A suitable service provider and a competent technical-support is all you need by way of preparation.
Outstripping email, voice conferencing gives the advantage of simultaneous response from the group. Most face-to-face meetings miss major items on their agenda by second-hand digressions and half-trails. The presence of a host or chairperson in a voice-conference ensures that the participants stick to the agenda at hand, which minimises loss of valuable time. The unprecedented quality of today’s communication ensures that file presentations and web-tours can be incorporated over the course of a conference call.
There is also the human element to be considered. In a phone conference, a person is in his comfort zone; there are no non-verbal signs that he must conform to, which would lead to more open-ended ideas from his side. This in turn can increase the success of a meeting, making it productive as opposed to a face-to-face meeting.
Voice conferencing versus face-to-face meetings
The sizeable advantages of meeting over the phone are many. Having many people from anywhere in the world connected at the same time is always a good option for a business since it allows for multiple inputs, which can always be responded to. Although a face-to-face meeting does have its advantages, conference calling can replace most of them, including the need to be personally present with a client on location. A business agency could take its time and discuss the terms of a proposal. Interviewing a prospective client while some of the best advisers in your team are present (which would be awkward, not to say irreverent in an actual face-to-face meeting) is a significant advantage of a teleconference call. If the actual need of a face-to-face meeting does arise, web conferencing or video conference can easily supply it.
