Meetings by telephone.

Meetings by Telephone

Communication professionals who take the initiative to explore and use promising technologies will most likely put great distances between themselves and their competitors. With fierce competition, shrinking product life cycles and events catapulting an organization onto the front page, communication cannot afford the luxury of time. Survival in the '90s may depend on how well and how quickly you use technology to communicate.

Technology has provided laptop computers, photocopiers, facsimile machines, desktop publishing systems and a host of other devices to support our ability to communicate. For example, the fax is available in more than 400 major hotels to offer document transmission over the phone lines to anywhere in the world. Many major corporations such as Hewlett-Packard, J.C. Penney, Kodak, IBM, Merrill Lynch and General Motors have leaped forward by creating their own audio and video networks for teleconferencing as the format to conduct sales meetings, new product introductions, board meetings, press conferences, panel discussions, dealer and broker information and the like. Teleconferencing has been a growth market and the massive political changes in the world may accelerate the pace.

You can reach across the miles to solve information distribution dilemmas. With a teleconference, as many as 60 locations can be connected to share vital and pertinent information. Participation in a teleconference only requires access to a telephone.

Who's Using Teleconferencing Technology?

In our global economy, advanced technology invites new rules and different strategies to efficiently deliver information and receive feedback. Teleconferencing offers a creative alternative to expensive travel and lost time. For example:

Orlando's Sea World used the audio services for an on-air conference announcing the New Baby Shamu's birth, then followed up with an audio press conference a week later.

Many pharmaceutical companies, including Hoffmann Laroche, Pfizer, Merck Sharpe Dohme and Abbott Labs find teleconferencing a quick and effective method to provide worldwide updates on drugs.

The multimillion dollar, fast-food chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken, solves its international distribution problem with audio teleconferencing while a large retail chain uses the conference for inventory management.

Even kids get into the communication act. Almost 100 Connecticut fifth graders at Elmer Thienes Elementary school recently spoke with their pen pals at School 292 in Leningrad, USSR.

North Carolina National Bank in Charlotte used teleconferencing to announce the winning bidder in the largest bank bailout in US history. Spokesmen said this not only allowed them to get news out quickly and accurately, but also allowed stockholders, the press and others to ask questions and get an immediate response.

Ruth Purdie, of Connecticut-based Connex International (one of the most recognized independent teleconferencing services), estimates that 10 percent of their total business involves conference calls with at least one international location - and it's growing.

Easy Access to Equipment is Big Advantage

What makes teleconferencing attractive is that it uses input technology that is available most places worldwide, the telephone. Audio conferencing is conferencing through standard telephone lines. Parties to the conference simply call the service which connects them electronically to 10, 20, 50 or more locations. There is no excuse for losing contact with people because of distance. New global freedoms will create an enormous appetite and demand for more information, and beyond that, cultural and language difficulties will make communication an even bigger issue.

On-the-Spot Crisis Communication

In the case of an international crisis such as Chernobyl, crisis communication becomes an ideal candidate for the teleconference because a crisis situation demands that information be promptly distributed. Prompt distribution also helps your chances for fair and accurate media coverage. Telling your side of the story may require more than a series of press releases.

With so many high-tech superstars, it is easy to overlook the simplicity of meetings by telephone. Communicators need to know that the teleconference is a resource that allows them to take the initiative in communication activities. Waiting for a catastrophe to thrust you into the communication mode may be doing it the hard way. When in doubt, get all the responsible parties together at the same time in a matter of minutes - call a meeting by telephone!