Video conferencing can be a powerful tool for virtually anyone. Eliminating the need to leave the office, you can still be in two places - or ten - places at once. By conferencing with clients and business partners more often, working relationships can become closer and offices half a world apart can work in harmony without waiting weeks for face-to-face meetings. Video conferencing is even in use in education, helping people to learn without commuting long distances and wasting money on travel expenses. There are many ways that video conferencing has improved interpersonal relations in all kinds of settings.

1. With video conferencing, there are no transportation costs. Between the plane tickets, hotel expenses, car rental and parking or taxi fees, and meals, traveling is expensive. Fuel prices seem to rise a bit higher every day, making travel cost even more. Much business travel is undertaken just for one or two meetings, making the costs even less practical. For a video conference, all that is needed is a one-time purchase of a microphone and webcam, and an internet connection. You can talk to anyone anywhere in the world without spending valuable resources on travel. If you have clients on three different continents, you can speak with each in the same morning and still use the rest of the day to get something more accomplished. Video conferencing can even be utilized for job interviews, employee training, and giving clients or business partners short updates at a fraction of the price of travel.

2. Everyone knows the old adage 'time is money.' Your time is very valuable, and you can lose half a day of business during travel and the wait time around flights and meetings. With video conferencing, you can fit in a number of business meetings each day around your regular work schedule. This causes less disruptions and delays, keeping you more productive. If you're video conferencing, there is also no need to wait for a number of business partners or clients to come into the city for a business meeting that could be arranged in less than a day and held in twenty minutes. A video conference is a highly efficient way to get everyone in the same place immediately without having to bring someone in from the other side of the country - or the world.

3. Video conferencing can make a better company. You can provide technical or product support for clients and customers more easily. Troubleshooting problems by actually seeing them, rather than simply hearing a description over the phone, will take significant time off of getting it fixed and making the customer happy. You can make employees happier and more productive, as well. Video conferencing can give your employees unity between separate offices and countries, allowing them to initiate teamwork more effectively. During meetings, you'll never again have to discover that you've left something important at the office. You can bring in experts on any subject and never have to tell clients or partners 'I don't know'.

4. Educational uses for video conference are wide, as well. It can provide new learning experiences, allowing teachers and professors to teach via video. Face-to-face teachers can bring in guest speakers right away without having to consider funding for their travel or inconvenience for an expert in their field. Teachers can have video conferences with people from other cultures and those who have lived through the history that they are teaching. For long distance students, video conferencing can eliminate the need to drive hours to a campus. Students who take courses online can have the added benefit of visual learning. There is no end to the educational uses of video conferencing.

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