Short definition
Meeting technology covers the entire technical setup for sessions and conferences – from microphone and discussion systems to sound reinforcement, voting, and interpreting systems.
Detailed explanation
Meeting technology is the umbrella term for the technology used in a meeting hall. This includes microphone and discussion systems with their microphone stations, sound reinforcement, presentation and media technology, voting systems (TED), and – for multilingual events – interpreting and transmission technology. It's characterized by a focus on spoken communication and orderly discussion among many participants.
Meeting technology differs from the related term "event technology" in its focus: it's less about show, lighting, and stage effects, and more about intelligibility, requests to speak, voting, and multilingualism. Well-planned meeting technology considers all trades together, since microphones, sound reinforcement, language distribution, and the interpreting system are directly interlinked.
Relevance in this subject area
Meeting technology is the environment interpreting technology fits into. Coordinating both creates the foundation for intelligible, multilingual sessions.
Practical example
For a two-day supervisory board meeting, the meeting technology is fully planned: microphone stations with language selection, voting function, sound reinforcement, presentation technology, and two interpreting booths – all managed through a central control system.
Related terms
Event technology, Microphone system, TED voting system, Interpreting system, Presentation technology