Speaker identifier for multi-party conference

A method of identifying a speaking party from among a plurality of parties participating in a multi-party conference from a plurality of terminals, the method comprising:

• receiving audio information from all speaking parties of the plurality of parties participating in the multi-party conference;
• comparing the audio information from all of the speaking parties in the multi-party conference;
• selecting the audio information that corresponds to dominant audio information based on the comparison;
• identifying one of the terminals associated with the dominant audio information;
• broadcasting only the dominant audio information associated with the identified terminal;
• obtaining an indication that identifies a dominant speaking party, of the plurality of parties, associated with the identified terminal;
• and
• transmitting the indication for display by terminals used by the plurality of parties participating in the multi-party conference.

A system for indicating which of a plurality of parties participating in a multi-party conference, using a plurality of terminals, is currently speaking, the system comprising:

• a multipoint processor configured to:
• receive audio information from all speaking parties of the plurality of parties participating in the multi-party conference,
• compare the audio information from all of the speaking parties in the multi-party conference,
• select the audio information that corresponds to dominant audio information based on the comparison,
• broadcast only the dominant audio information to the plurality of parties in the multi-party conference, and
• identify a terminal associated with the dominant audio information:
• and a speaker identifier processor configured to:
• identify a currently speaking party from among the plurality of parties based on the identified terminal, and
• provide at least one identifier for display by the plurality of terminals to identify the currently speaking party to the plurality of parties participating in the multi-party conference.