Collaboration Wars: Audio Conferencing vs. Video Conferencing

Infographic from InFocus called Conference Wars: Video Conferencing vs. Audio Conferencing.


Here are some of the biggest culprits you’ve likely experienced:

1.) Audio disruptions

A bad audio call participant can turn an otherwise highly collaborative meeting into a disaster. For instance, “is everyone on slide 24?” Does that line some familiar? It not only slows the meeting down do to the speaker having to make sure people on audio get the message, but content sharing is a pain in the butt with the host making sure audio participants are “following along”.

2.) The Distracted One

How many people drift in and out of multiparty conferences when their on audio? I do it a lot. Audio calls often make me feel like a fly on the wall unless I’m the one leading the conversation in the meeting. Therefore my ADD kicks in and it’s off to space. According to InFocus, 63% of people send emails and 44% send text messages while participating in audio calls.

3.) The Yeller

We all know that guy / gal who feels the need to yell on audio conferences. Come to think of it, I am that guy. I don’t know what it is, but I feel so far away from everyone on an audio call that I need to make sure everyone is hearing me.

Video does a better job of putting everyone into a virtual face-to-face meeting, reducing the need to increase your volume.

4.) The Late-Arriver

Have you ever snuck into an audio meeting? Most audio conferences have a little alert ringtone sound that all participants can hear once another participant joins, but for some, you can pull off a sneaky late entry undetected. Regardless, the speaker has to stop the conversation and ask who just joined the call. Meanwhile, on a video call everyone knows who joins and when they join which reduces the number of late arrivals.

5.) The Mumbler

If we had some data on the percentage of mumblers in the workforce out of the total, I’m certain it would have to be somewhere between 70-80%. There are a lot of mumblers out there, and an audio conference is no place for a mumbler. Video provides the added benefit of facial expressions and visibility of pronunciation to help a mumbler out in getting their message across to you right the first time.

Video is great, and so is this infographic. Well done InFocus.