Teleconference system, communication terminal, and teleconference method

A communication terminal comprising:

• hardware, including at least one processor and at least one memory;
• speech determination unit implemented at least by the hardware and configured to determine whether a voice of a user of the communication terminal indicates speech or back-channel in a teleconference in which the user participates;
• voice output control unit implemented at least by the hardware and configured to perform control so that a voice of each of a plurality of participants in the teleconference is output by the communication terminal and the voice of the user is output by a first communication terminal which is a communication terminal of each of a plurality of the participants, and perform control, when, while one of a plurality of the participants makes speech, the user makes speech, so as to suppress an output of the speech of the user at the first communication terminal;
• count unit implemented at least by the hardware and configured to count a number of first speeches in which their outputs are suppressed, for the user of the communication terminal, the number of the first speeches being a number of times that the first speeches have occurred for each of the participants;
• and
• number display control unit implemented at least by the hardware and configured to perform control so that a display related to the number of the first speeches is made at the first communication terminal.

A teleconference method comprising:

• determining whether a voice of each of a plurality of participants in a teleconference indicates speech or back-channel;
• performing control so that the voice of each of a plurality of the participants is output by a communication terminal of each of a plurality of the participants;
• performing control, when, while one of a plurality of the participants makes speech, another participant makes speech, so as to suppress an output of the speech of the another participant;
• counting a number of first speeches in which their outputs are suppressed, for each participant, the number of the first speeches being a number of times that the first speeches have occurred for each of the participants;
• and
• performing control so that a display related to the number of the first speeches is made at the communication terminals of a plurality of the participants.