Multi-Site meetings that employ satellite broadcasting, video conferencing, and the possible combination of both, have been in-use globally for a number of years. They are used to communicate to many regions at one time. Global organizations with a need to share a common message around the world simultaneously use Multi-Site meetings to bring large and geographically diverse groups in contact with executives at critical points in time.

Town Hall Meetings
Some organizations use Multi-Site meetings as a way of creating regular "town hall" meeting forums that can include question and answer sessions between many regions and a host location. This provides participants in attendance at a regional or remote location (rather than at a host location) to interact with the presenters of the event. Additionally, the speakers have the opportunity to hear (and with some technologies, to see) participants as they ask their questions.

Satellite/Video Conferencing
There are two methods of conducting high quality and visually interactive group meetings over significant distances. One method is to use satellite systems to broadcast the meeting to remote locations and the other is to use video conferencing technology. While both methods are commonly used for business meetings, each has particular strengths that are well suited to certain types of meeting formats. An additional method of communication, which is rapidly gaining popularity, is "web-conferencing" which allows individuals to attend events from a personal computer rather than in a group forum.

Characteristics of Satellite vs. Video Conferencing Meetings
Listed below are some distinguishing characteristics of each meeting method:

Launching a New Product or Making Key Announcements
Multi-Site meetings offer a powerful method for a message to be communicated to large groups at multiple locations simultaneously. This can be extremely valuable, especially when launching a new product or making key announcements.

Of special note is that group interaction is a key element in the communication. There is a significant "more is better" quality associated with Multi-Site meetings. This implies that large groups receiving a key message simultaneously tend to become more energized by the event.

To realize the powerful impact that large Multi-Site meetings can offer, the content of the meeting must focus on very select and powerful messages. The meeting objectives must be clear, concise, well articulated and meaningful.

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About TKO
TKO Video Communications provides high-quality video communications solutions for business, government, education and worldwide enterprises. Services include audio conferencing, video conferencing and equipment (Tandberg, Sony and Polycom), streaming video and audio, satellite broadcasting and event management for Multi-Site meetings.

Outsourcing | Systems | Equipment | Tandberg | 550 | 880 | 1000 | Polycom