2. Consult/join meetings

Advantages: Choose meetings when you want to elicit ideas from others; foster group participation and discussion; resolve group issues; receive input from various people or groups, reach a consensus and establish action steps.

Disadvantages: Face-to-face meetings do not allow the possibility of simultaneous participation in multiple locations; can delay meeting follow-up activities because decisions and action items must be written up after the meeting.

3. Videoconferences

• Advantages: Choose videoconferences when (1) the participants are in different places, but you want to communicate with them all at the same time; (2) you want to save on travel time and expenses.

• Disadvantages: They are usually not as effective as face-to-face meetings when you need to persuade or to establish personal relationships.

4. Audioconferences Audioconferences are usually called telephone conference calls.

• Advantages: Have most of the advantages of videoconferencing, but are (1) cheaper, (2) based on more readily available equipment, (3) less time and trouble to set up.

• Disadvantages: Have most of the disadvantages of videoconferencing plus (1) lack of body language makes it harder to interact and to know who is going to speak next, and (2) lack of text or visuals makes it harder to communicate a great deal of detailed information.

5. Broadcasting or webcasting

Advantages: Can transmit to multiple audiences in multiple locations.

Disadvantages: Usually one-way video, sometimes two-way audio.

6. Electronic meetings

Advantages: Choose electronic meetings when you want to (1) generate more ideas and alternatives more quickly than with a traditional note-taker; (2) allow the possibility of anonymous input, which may lead to more candid and truthful replies; (3) maximize audience participation and in-depth discussion because everyone can "speak" simultaneously, so shy members are more likely to participate. Disadvantages: EMS (1) cannot replace face-to-face contact, especially when group efforts are just beginning and when you arc trying to build group values, trust, and emotional ties; (2) may make it harder to reach consensus.

7. Email meetings Email meetings are unmediated (that is, messages go directly to other participants^’ computers) and asynchronous (that is, people respond at their convenience, at different times).

Advantages: At their best, email meetings can (1) increase participation because people can respond when they wish and no scheduling is necessary, (2) speed up meeting follow-up activities because of electronic distribution.

Disadvantages: At their worst, email meetings can (1) decrease attention to the audience and to social context and regulation; (2) be inappropriately informal; (3) consist of "quick and dirty" messages, with typos and grammatical errors, and, more importantly, lack of logical frameworks for readers—such as headings and transitions.

Speaking to an individual

Speaking to an individual includes conversation, telephone, voicemail.

Speak to an individual - not to a group - when you want (1) a private, confidential communication, (2) individual feedback or response, (3) less preparation time, or (4) a fast, simple answer.