Patent ID: 8675854

Claim:
A method of connecting participants into a multi-modal conference comprising: receiving at least one of an incoming audio signal and incoming text-based message; when an incoming audio signal is received, transcoding the incoming audio signal to a text-based message, interleaving the text-based message with other incoming text-based messages and providing the interleaved text-based messages to at least one participant having a text-based receiver connected into the multi-modal conference; and when an incoming text-based message is received, transcoding the incoming text-based message to an audio signal and providing the audio signal to at least one participant having an audio-based receiver connected into the multi-modal conference based on a plurality of mechanisms, the plurality of mechanisms comprising: when an idle period is present within voice communications on the multi-modal conference unit, turn taking, conference identification, participant identification, ordering of interjections, modulation of meaning, expectation of shared awareness, floor domination and combinations thereof.