Videoconferencing - is an alternative for collaborative efforts that occur at the same time with participants in different locations. All the ideas are shown on the front projection screen. The items can be discussed and quickly sorted with the results displayed graphically within a few seconds. The fact that everyone contributes at once can create great time savings. Depending on the task at hand, EMS voting and prioritizing can be used to narrow choices, select alternatives or focus the conversation to reach consensus.
Participants can leave with meeting results in hand.
The second type of EMS utilizes electronic keypads which enable participants to vote or submit numbers. The polling results are shown immediately on a projection screen. This keypad technology can be used with groups as large as several hundred. Examples include Leadership 2000 Conexus and Options Technologies. Following are some challenges they all share.