Chapter 4: ISDN Puts Video To Work

Better, Less Costly Meetings

Electronic meetings can offer critical advantages:

Easier scheduling. Since each meeting participant can attend from his or her own office, or sometimes even from home, time commitments are dramatically reduced.

Reduced costs. Travel is virtually eliminated; special accommodations are no longer needed. Meetings are now carried on from each participant's office or from a nearby conference room.

Better information. Information to answer questions, present facts or draw conclusions is now close at hand. Other staff members with special expertise can be quickly added to a meeting for specific ideas or opinions. Video meetings also make it possible to share documents, images and detailed files through the computer or video screen.

Higher productivity. Perhaps most important, video meetings consistently seem to improve meeting focus, adherence to an agenda, and the exchange of information to all participants. They also seem to reduce small talk and curtail long digressions.