Do you belong to a networking group, a member of a sales team or part of an event planning group? Do you wish you didn’t have to travel as much to be at the meeting? Do you think that it is important to see the nonverbal communication to better understand the intent and meaning? There are times when a telephone conversation is not enough. Sometimes you need to see the sincerity in their eyes or feel the passion in the presentation. There are times when utilizing video conferencing is a good choice and having immediate and ongoing access can be a wise investment.

There are lots of options to choose from very simple usage to more sophisticated applications. When you decide that this is the right choice, you also must begin to analyze how often you would use the video conferencing service. If you are going to use video conferencing often, then you must also begin to evaluate what additional options other than the basic service could increase efficiency of use. One of the options some services offer is the ability to record the conference call and play back. This could be very beneficial for missing members of the group to access the recorded conference to catch up on what they missed and the required follow up activities.

Another option that can prevent chaos on a large group conference call is the raised hand display that the moderator can see and acknowledge the participant to speak and address their questions or concerns. An option that normally accompanies the raised hand icon is the question/comment box that can be submitted to the moderator to be acknowledged and address as appropriately relevant and in line with the discussion topic. Having the option to be able to access other members desktop can be a needed feature for some groups. I have been on video conferencing trainings where the visual was online and you had to dial in on a telephone to access the audio.

Of course there are free options for small groups and premium services for larger, more advanced groups. Now is a good time to think about video conferencing, do some research on the latest offerings and make some notes as to which ones would fit your needs today and whether or not the service has applications and options that can be increased or upgraded to meet your future needs.

Here’s a resource to begin your research www.5linx.net/SavesUcash ook at the Business Elite services package which includes webinars/video conferencing/desktop sharing as well as text blasts.