In the modern business world, there is so much new technology available that the way day-to-day operations are conducted is virtually unrecognisable from a decade ago.
Bring-your-own-device policies and remote access solutions have mobilised workforces so that people can do their jobs from a variety of different locations, whether they are in the office, at home, abroad or even mid-commute.
As a result, when it comes to conducting meetings, it is not always possible to have everyone present in the same room, which means face-to-face sessions aren’t an option. However, video and audio conferencing solutions mean employees and business contacts can still communicate with each other in real-time, regardless of their whereabouts.
While a phone conversation may suffice between two parties, more often than not there is a need to connect three or more locations, which is where conferencing comes into play. But what benefits does video conferencing hold over a more simple audio conferencing session?
The closest thing to face-to-face
Even though it may not be possible to be in the same meeting room, in many circumstances you may still need the visual element of a video conference.
One example of this may when there is a potentially sensitive issue to be discussed, as video conferencing will relay all of the other more delicate nuances of communication, such as body language. It can be easy for these subtleties to get lost in the audio airwaves, when seeing a smile or gesture might help to get a point across in a more sensitive manner.
With statistics suggesting as much as 80 per of communication is non-verbal, to eliminate any potentially awkward situations, many may like to have a live video feed for interaction.
Collaboration
Furthermore, video conferencing can enable workers to share desktops and documents in real-time, which facilitates collaboration between parties, as everyone is able to look at what each other is doing on what is effectively the same computer screen, despite the fact parties may be separated by thousands of miles.
This can also present security benefits as you do not necessarily need to grant participants long-term access to documents.
International collaboration
With many businesses finding their budgets under increasing amounts of pressure, the cost of corporate travel can leave sizeable dents in company coffers. Video conferencing provides the best solution to be able to hold meetings with colleagues or clients in other parts of the world when it is simply not possible to travel there in person.
What’s more, business interpretation solutions delivered via video, like this example, remove the potential language barrier of not having an interpreter present, or the impossibility of needing to have one in two places at the same time!
The world is your stage
Particularly for companies that operate across international borders, if you are launching a new product or service, or want to hold a thought leadership session, the idea could fall flat if you are unable to register enough attendees for your efforts to be worth your while.
Video conferencing makes the whole world your stage and, when combined with interpretation services as mentioned before, you can get your message across to many more individuals than were you to hold a session that could only be enjoyed in person.
Big brother is watching
Whatever you do, when video conferencing, you must always remember one key point – you are constantly being watched. It is not okay to pass a side comment to a colleague, roll your eyes, deal with your split ends or pop away to make a cup of tea. It really is as good as being in the same room as the person to whom you are connected, so you must behave as if this was the case.