Mexico. For many organizations, video communication has become a mission-critical business tool. Today more than ever we use video conferencing on a daily basis to collaborate as a team and communicate with our business partners and customers.
The benefits of video conferencing are more than financial. Sure, video conferencing can save time and travel costs, and yes, cloud-based solutions further reduce the cost of collaboration. But the most important thing is that video conferencing facilitates teamwork at any distance.
Unlike phone calls, emails, or text messages, video conferencing retains one of the biggest benefits of a traditional in-person meeting: face-to-face communication. Along with other remote collaboration tools, video conferencing has fueled the rise of remote work in an increasingly globalized economy by allowing teams to collaborate at any distance without sacrificing regular human interaction.
Problem:
Video conferencing comes with some challenges. The biggest one is that many times, it feels.... Strange.
Many people hate video conferencing because they are uncomfortable seeing themselves on a screen, or because it feels unnatural to talk to a screen. And yet, that discomfort doesn't undo the real benefits of using video conferencing to improve your workflow, especially if you or other members of your team work remotely.
Body language plays an important role in face-to-face conversations. In a video conference, where most body language comes from facial expression, eye contact is critical. And yet, it's one of the hardest things to correct.
Solution
Try and try, after the first few occasions, communication will feel much more natural.
Problem
Audio quality is the most important element for the success of an online meeting. Poor audio quality can lead to misunderstandings, lost productivity, and damage to relationships with customers and partners.
Problems occur, such as voice overlap and pauses, when a person isn't sure if another person is talking or is going to start talking. Frozen or "broken" conversations are common. Even with the highest bandwidth and the best connections, we've all experienced audio issues such as poor volume, background noise, line static, echo and other distortions that disrupt the natural flow of a meeting and if you can't be sure what is being said.
The goal of any teleconference is for participants to feel almost as if they are in a real meeting room, where they can hear what is being said and be heard when they speak.
Solution 1:
Use dedicated video conferencing platforms with their own servers in the cloud and priorities thanks to adaptive technology that directs bandwidth to the speaker and reduces it to the listener. It is paramount to have a dedicated video backbone that provides a reliable, high-performance experience.
Solution 2:
Use "audio only". Employ versatile and flexible video conferencing platforms such as Multimedia-Video that allows unlimited audio dial-up connection for guests through traditional telephony (available in 55 countries) or VoIP/data telephone networks, so no one has to get lost when video is not convenient. With Audio+ presentation mode only, guests can join a meeting as audio participants, but still view the shared content.
There used to be few solutions that allowed you to get quality video and audio at a reasonable price. But thanks to advances in audio and video technology and the advent of cloud-based systems, it's never been easier to find relatively inexpensive video conferencing solutions that work well.
When it comes to setting up video conferencing in the workplace, it's ideal to contact an AV integrator who will make sure you come across a reliable solution that you really like to use. Beyond that, you can be sure that you will feel more comfortable with video conferencing the more you use them.
Text written by the Mexican company Multimedia.
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